STEW'S CATALOG FOR VALENTINE'S GETS HEARTIER

ROSEANNE HARPER

NORWALK, Conn. -- Stew Leonard's here had such heart-warming success with its first Valentine's Day gift catalog last year that it printed an expanded version this year.

"Valentine's Day gift sales last year were easily double those of the year before," said Clyde Mount, director of the gift center. Prior to last year, Valentine's gifts had been sold at the store and gift center. Bakery items figure prominently in the catalog. Gifts include a tin of heart-shaped cookies, a heart-shaped cake, cheese cakes and tortes, a tin of store-baked chocolate chip cookies and other baked goods, candies and variety baskets.

The catalog and word-of-mouth advertising got credit for pushing sales up. "We also just got serious about mail order. We began to see the potential," he said.

The company has had a mail order gift business for seven years, but had focused primarily on the Christmas season. Now there's a catalog for Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's and Father's Day and a summer sale, as well as for Christmas. Spurred by last year's success for Valentine's Day, the company put more effort into presentation this year, Mount said.

"We ordered red tins with hearts on them, for instance. Last year, we used the same gold ones we had used for Christmas."

One of 29 new items this year, "Bucket o' Brownies," is packed in the new tins. It weighs 1.25 pounds, and the price is $14.95. The chocolate chip, iced brownies are made in store, but not available in the store, Mount said.