Cash for cards scheme gives Christmas that Creative feel

Multimedia vendor Creative Labs is starting a cashback programme designed to encourage customers to upgrade to its wavetable sound cards.

A registration form inside the box entitles new purchasers to a #12 cheque for the AWE64 card and #23 for the gold card.

To claim the rebate, customers must send Creative Labs the form, plus a receipt for the new card and the old card.

Julia Duthie, regional manager at Creative Labs, echoed fears expressed in last week's PC Dealer (29 October) that Christmas would see low PC sales. She claimed this would be 'the Christmas of the upgrade' and said the Creative Labs initiative would help users overcome reluctance to throw away old kit and upgrade.

Duthie predicted a shorter, more intense Christmas peak for 1997 and said Creative Labs had not seen the traditional September lift to the market. The scheme, designed to kickstart sales, runs until 31 January.

Creative Labs results for the first quarter of its fiscal financial year ending 30 September showed 250 per cent increase in profit up to $51.6 million from $14.7 million for the same period last year. Turnover was up to $287.8 million from $284 million last year.