Staff writer

For ardent couples, this Valentine's Day might offer a chance to spend some impassioned time together, but some confectioners and chocolate makers are concerned that it might come at their expense.

Because Valentine's Day falls on a Saturday this year and the economy is less robust than in years past, some in the industry fear that while more couples might be spending time together, less of it is going to involve the giving of chocolates.

Especially threatened are sales of "giri" chocolates, the infamous treats office ladies and young women give corporate pals, superiors and friends when Feb. 14 rolls around.

With most women off for the weekend, some in the industry fear they might skimp on their annual gift-giving. In 1996, Japan gobbled up an estimated 442 billion yen worth of chocolate -- or roughly 3,500 yen for every man, woman and child, according to the Chocolate and Cocoa Association of Japan. Valentine's Day generally accounts for about 11 percent of annual consumption, so if women decide to forgo chocolate on the day of love, it could substantially affect annual sales.

Not to be outdone by the calendar, some retailers have improvised strategies to capitalize on the weekend holiday. To combat giri chocolate apathy, the Isetan department store has promoted Valentine's Eve -- Friday the 13th -- as the night of romance and chocolate.

"With the economy slow and Valentine's Day falling on Saturday, we tried to get customers to buy early and give chocolates on Friday," said the store's head press officer, Kyoko Kawarabayashi.

To entice early purchasing, the company started slapping "Valentine Eve" seals on chocolates at the end of January. While the volume of chocolates sold has decreased since the bubble era, women in the past three years have opted for higher quality, more sophisticated and more expensive chocolates, Kawarabayashi said.

The trend has continued this year with women moving away from chocolates in cute shapes and designs, and instead choosing the more high-end, "grown-up" sweets, Kawarabayashi said. Hot sellers this year reportedly included Belgium and Swiss chocolates as well as those made from fresh cream.