{"id":45,"date":"2004-11-23T12:30:58","date_gmt":"2004-11-23T20:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/wordpress\/archives\/2004\/11\/class_war_now.html"},"modified":"2004-11-23T12:30:58","modified_gmt":"2004-11-23T20:30:58","slug":"class_war_now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/archives\/2004\/11\/class_war_now.html","title":{"rendered":"Class War. Now."},"content":{"rendered":"

The Post reports on FAO Schwarz’s new $50,000 toy<\/a>:<\/p>\n

For the kid who’s got everything \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and is in a hurry to get ahead \u00e2\u20ac\u201d FAO Schwarz has the perfect gift: a $50,000 miniature Ferrari. Forget the batteries. This two-seat roadster \u00e2\u20ac\u201d in candy-apple red, of course \u00e2\u20ac\u201d is powered by real gasoline, has leather seats, a detachable roof and a working dashboard, and can go 15 mph. Perfect for cruising to kindergarten or impressing that special playmate.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This comes in the midst of news of FAO Schwarz’s triumphal return<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Legendary toy retailer FAO Schwarz will reopen its landmark Manhattan store on Thanksgiving Day, just in time for the holidays.<\/p>\n

The 65,000-square-foot store at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street has been shuttered since January, soon after the investment firm D.E. Shaw bought the then-bankrupt FAO.<\/p>\n

In the ensuing months, the store was gutted and completely renovated at an undisclosed cost.<\/p>\n

Gone are some FAO icons like the Clock Tower and Robot Elevator.<\/p>\n

What was once a labyrinth of crowded, somewhat claustrophobic rooms have been opened into a grand hall capped by a 30-foot ceiling fitted with 20,000 computerized lights.<\/p>\n

Also new are floor-to-ceiling windows.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Apparently the toy retailer has undergone a Donald Trump-like rebrand:<\/p>\n

After taking a beating last year from discount stores that sharply reduced prices on popular holiday toys, FAO has focused on exclusive products, Jerry Welch, the retailer’s chief executive, said yesterday.<\/p>\n

“What you have in here,” Welch said \u00e2\u20ac\u201d gesturing to a $50,000 gas-powered Ferrari and a life-size replica of the giant keyboard used in the movie “Big” that sells for $150,000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d “you won’t find at the discounters.”<\/p>\n

Not every item is meant to break the bank. There’s a one-of-a-kind Hot Wheels Factory, where for $20, kids can design their own miniature car.<\/p>\n

For $40, girls can create their own Madame Alexander Doll, choosing the skin tone, hair and eye color, a service available only at FAO’s New York and Las Vegas stores.<\/p>\n

Many portions of the store are more traditional, including a huge display of plush toys offering items that range from a $7.99 teddy bear to a $15,000 life-size elephant.<\/p>\n

Aspiring fashion designers can submit drawings, and for $800 an FAO couturier will construct the outfit.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bonus Point — pathetic FAO leftovers from last January:<\/p>\n

\"Leftovers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Post reports on FAO Schwarz’s new $50,000 toy: For the kid who’s got everything \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and is in a hurry to get ahead \u00e2\u20ac\u201d FAO Schwarz has the perfect gift: a $50,000 miniature Ferrari. Forget the batteries. This two-seat roadster \u00e2\u20ac\u201d in candy-apple red, of course \u00e2\u20ac\u201d is powered by real gasoline, has leather […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-class_war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}