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Photo by Andy Atkinson Cheryl Smith, a nine-year veteran of making gift baskets for Harry and David, puts together a fruit basket Sunday afternoon at the Country Village store in Medford. The gift baskets are Harry and David's most popular item during the holidays. Reinventing the fruitcake Harry and David offers new items in stores and catalog this holiday season By SUSAN JAY Just when you thought the traditional fruitcake might never change, Harry and David comes up with a new treat for the lovers and givers of this filling, teeth-sticking morsel. It's the finger-sized, chocolate Fruitcake Bar, a new item company marketing gurus are betting will be a hot holiday seller this Christmas for $24.95, at the local Country Village store and in the holiday catalog. They're betting on some other new gifts in the catalog pages as well, including the Old English Hamper basket, which is overstuffed with unique goodies such as plum pudding, antique styled toys and Royal Riviera pears. But the list keeps going from there and includes Stilton cheese in a ceramic pot, hot buttered rum mix, and spiced anchovy relish, all for $349. These luxurious gifts are what customers say they want more of in Harry and David's year-round marketing surveys, said Bill Ihle, vice president of corporate communications for Bear Creek Corp., Harry and David's parent company. Harry and David has been shipping baskets filled with pears and other fruit across the world for more than 60 years. Its sister company Jackson & Perkins is internationally known for roses and flower gift packages. Holiday sales account for 70 percent of Bear Creek's catalog and retail business, Ihle said. During the peak order period last year, the customer call center handled more than 100,000 calls in one day. This year there are three call centers, in Medford, Eugene and Hebron, Ohio. This year the two companies and a sister operation, Northwest Express, which sells clothing and other nonfood gift items, will ship 2 million packages from Medford and 2.5 million from the new Ohio distribution center. Those gifts will be sent to 102 countries including Australia, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates. What all goes into these gift packages annually? How about: 10 million pounds of pears 2.5 million pounds of cheese 750,000 pounds of nuts 961,000 pounds -- 480.5 tons -- of chocolate. Harry and David also just opened a new store, similar to the one in Medford, in Denver, Colo. They are the company's only two retail locations in the United States. As shoppers might expect, the local Harry and David's Country Village store is alive with the sights and smells of Christmas, and full to the aisles with new and traditional holiday gifts. A new activity inside the store is the basket-making booth, where shoppers can either make their own baskets with the help of a sales associate or have the basket maker put their items together for them. There is an additional charge for decorating items. When it comes to hot sellers, the plump, white ceramic snowman cookie jar may be a winner, with its unique color and detail. "This is what I'm getting myself for Christmas," said Bill Krumpeck, director of the Country Village. It reminds him of the one his grandmother had when he was a child. The snowman's head is the cookie jar lid, and is graced with a black top hat. He has black button eyes and a pointed, bright yellow nose and he sports a muted red scarf and broom. At $32.95, this limited edition is available at the store and in the catalog. A more elaborate version will also be available soon at the store and in the catalog. Another new item at the Medford store is antique, frosted glass ornaments in the shape of grapes, pears and apples, plus a stand-up Santa Claus. For the yummy, decadent side of Christmas, new this year are an 8-ounce chocolate pear truffle, butter rum truffles and Harry and David's own chocolate mousse. Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA