Yes, but - if he's bought an imac recently you would expect it to have leopard and ilife08 (which he may have). Unless it was (very) old item which had been in store for some considerable time. My friend got his new-style imac direct from Apple when it was advertised as shipping with Leopard, but it didn't. They said he could have Leopard but would have to pay shipping! Eventually, after some discussion, they sent it free.
Similarly, once iLife08 was out, new machines came with it included. I've upgraded to iLife08 but not Leopard yet.