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RealLifeGifts Gift Packs for Sale in Seven (7) Bay Area Stores

For Immediate Release
December 8 , 2005
Media Contact: Cheryl Moody, 415.265.0438, enquiries AT reallifegifts.com

SF-Based Start-up is First US Lifestyle-Experience Retailer to Offer In-Store Product Availability

San Francisco, CA – RealLifeGifts announced today that it is the first US lifestyle-experience retailer to move off line and also provide customers with a “brick and mortar” retail opportunity to purchase the company’s innovative gift experiences. The fledgling San Francisco start-up has opened a retail store at the San Francisco Shopping Center and partnered with Lombardi Sports, Sports Basement, Just for Fun, Wild Card, and Jax’s - Santana Row Invitations (San Jose) to sell gift packs directly to consumers in addition to its e-commerce site at www.RealLifeGifts.com.

The retail store at the San Francisco Shopping Center marks the first experience store in the US. More significantly, RealLifeGifts has pioneered the US introduction of off-the-shelf “experiences.” The trend in giving gifts as experiences has already been proven in the UK and overseas, but has yet to fully emerge in the US marketplace. In the UK alone, the gift experience market is estimated at over £200 million and has attracted several large companies including Richard Branson’s Virgin Corporation.

In the US, Shop.org, the industry association for online retailers, predicts that online sales (excluding travel) will reach $109.6 billion in 2005. Of that, the gifts category is expected to reach $4.8 billion. In comparison, the National Retail Federation announced that holiday spending alone at traditional “brick and mortar” retail outlets may exceed $439.5 billion (just for the shopping period from November to December). “Given that online sales still represent less than 5% of the total retail sales, it was obvious that we needed a physical presence,” notes CEO/Founder James Dilworth. “We always envisioned RealLifeGifts as a multi-channel retailer with online presence and in-store product availability.”

The pioneering experience gift giving company makes it simple and easy for gift buyers to give experiences. They offer a range of experiences from skydiving to scuba diving, dance lessons to scenic seaplane flights. Vouchers for the experiences are sold within colorful gift packs. Each pack also comes with a lively description of the activity, simple booking instructions and advice for the day. “It’s an all in one, easy way to find and give great experiences,” says Dilworth.

Kevin Depalmer, Buyer for Lombardi Sports, explains the appeal of experience gifts. "We're really excited to add RealLifeGifts gifts to our store. They make it easy for our customers to purchase all kinds of unique and incredible experiences for their friends and family. I'd like to see the look on their faces when they open their Christmas presents and find a day of sailing lessons on the Bay!"

RealLifeGifts has used its deep knowledge of the Bay Area community to select the best-in-class activity providers to offer the experiences. Companies such as OCSC Sailing, LeMans Karting in Fremont, SeaTrek, and Monterey Bay Dive Center have signed up to offer packages through RealLifeGifts. “We live and play here ourselves, so we knew from the start which companies would be able to wow our customers,” Dilworth explains. “These are local businesses that we know well and believe in. Our goal is to make them more successful through a partnership with RealLifeGifts.”

RealLifeGifts offers many convenient solutions to holiday giving. “It’s hard for gift givers to go wrong with this,” enthuses Dilworth. First, the giver can offer a physical present (as opposed to a generic gift certificate or debit card). Second, once the gift has been presented, the recipient is in total control of the gift: she can redeem the experience at her convenience. Finally, if the gift giver has really goofed, the recipient can easily exchange the gift for another activity at RealLifeGifts.

The convenience and appeal of experiences as gifts is good news for managers and business owners. "For the holidays, or on completion of an arduous project, you'll want to reward your employees. But, if you think buying for friends and family is hard, just wait until you have to buy gifts for employee," notes Dilworth. “It can be much harder to shop for people you know professionally. You must be politically correct and fair, as well as thoughtful. RealLifeGifts offers a one-stop shopping opportunity for the manager who needs to get something for the adrenaline junkie in the creative services department (tandem skydiving), the almost retired administrative assistant (whale watching) and the newly engaged marketing director (dance lessons for two).”

Now, with the introduction of retail sales outlets, customers can purchase exciting and innovative gift experiences directly at the following locations:

San Francisco RealLifeGifts - San Francisco Shopping Center, 865 Market Street, 415.495.5656
Just for Fun, 3982 24th Street, 415.285.4068
Lombardi Sports, 1600 Jackson Street, 415.771.0600
Sports Basement, 610 Mason Street, 415.437.0100
Sports Basement, 9 Fallon Place, 415.318.8477
Wild Card, 3979 17th Street, .415.626.4449

Peninsula Jax’s -Santana Row Invitations, 377 Santana Row, #1035, 408.423.9900
Sports Basement, 1177 Kern Avenue, Sunnyvale, 415.318.8477

RealLifeGifts is a San Francisco based lifestyle-experience retail company that believes the best things in life…aren’t things. Our goal is to make it easier to give once-in-a-lifetime experiences as gifts that will be remembered and cherished. We have partnered with the best activity providers to offer the most exhilarating adventures, the most relaxing afternoons, and the most interesting experiences: from scuba to sky diving, salsa dancing to rock climbing, hot air ballooning to luxurious massages. Each experience comes in a colorful gift-pack, which includes an illustrated description of the activity and an easy-to-use voucher that allows the recipient to schedule the experience at his or her convenience. Great experience gift ideas can be purchased online at RealLifeGifts.com and select retail outlets in San Francisco and San Jose. Simply put, Experiences Make Better GiftsTM.