Instead of golf balls or bottles of whiskey for Fathers¡¯ Day, dads in Japan this year may be getting time on the links or a day on a Ducati. ¡°Experience gift catalogs¡± are gaining in popularity as an easy way to give unusual presents for all occasions.
¡°I think people are looking for something new,¡± says , CEO of Japan¡¯s first experience gift catalog company. ¡°It¡¯s wonderful to give your mother carnations on Mothers¡¯ day, but I think people like the idea of doing something more original, too. Flowers die. When you give someone an experience, that¡¯s a memory that lasts forever.¡±
Traditional gift catalogs have been used as a way to give presents to guests at weddings or funerals or prizes to amateur sports winners since the late ¡®80s. The giver picks a price range and sends the giftee a catalog of items that are all the same pre-specified, undisclosed price. Depending on the brand and price range, the catalogs can include a huge variety of products from fruit, tea, wine and ice cream to jewelry, wallets and designer handbags. Names of popular catalogs, such as ¡±¡± and ¡±,¡± hint at how they work: Pick an item, tell the catalog company, and it¡¯s soon on the doorstep.
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