Retailers See Expanded Valentine’s Market : Candy’s Dandy and So Are Sales

There may be some young lovers out there with brand new garbage cans today.

Clark Dye Hardware in Santa Ana had a big response this week to two Valentine’s Day specials--both advertised with free gift wrapping: 33-gallon trash cans and 40-piece socket sets.

It is unclear how many are being presented with red ribbons as tokens of undying love.

But Valentine’s Day and the week before it mean big dollars to retailers, with sales volume for many that is second only to Christmas. Because of that, more and more retailers with less-than-traditional product lines--are jumping on the Valentine bandwagon each year.

This year, merchants predict, shoppers will plunk down even more in the name of love because people have more time to shop on a Saturday for their One or Many.

“You know how men are--real last-minute shoppers. But they have more time on a weekend to look around,” said Mima Ransom, owner of Mima’s Lingerie in Newport Beach’s Fashion Island. The shop already has seen a huge upswing in male customers over the past two weeks, with sales up about 15% to 20% over 1986.

Irvine Florists Ltd. hired 20 temporary delivery truck drivers--up from the usual two--and doubled the normal work force to about 40 to handle the 1,750 orders anticipated for this week. And despite roses costing anywhere from $65 to $75 per dozen, the highest in years, Yack said most florists haven’t seen fewer customers. He expects sales will be about 15% higher than last year.

Sales of chocolate, another traditional gift, also are expected to be sweet.

Godiva Chocolatiers in South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa sold out of many lower-priced items--those costing up to $32--a week ago. “The women came in early and bought those,” said manager Pat Duncan. “Now the men are having to buy the high-ticket items” like a $55, 20-ounce heart-shaped box of chocolates.

See’s Candy Shops Inc. expects to sell about 210,000 pounds of the candy in Orange County this Valentine’s Day week, generating about $1.2 million in revenue, or 5% more than last year.

There has been more shopping for less traditional tokens of devotion, too.

Hickory Farms at South Coast Plaza by Friday had sales volume about 10% higher than last year and expected to sell about 84 heart-shaped cheddar and port wine cheeses for the week.

Pint-size, red garbage cans stuffed with junk food, and heart-shaped sunglasses with battery-powered windshield wipers have been big sellers the past few weeks at Wrapper II at Fashion Island, which expects to sell about 20% more seasonal gifts than last year.