(30 July 2007 7:03 pm)

MUMBAI: Online DVD rental company Quickflix has got a new partner in the form of Harvey Norman Ltd which will roll out a campaign to attract retail customers to the former's online movie rental business.

Under the arrangement, Harvey Norman customers who spend more than $75 purchasing home entertainment or computer goods in the month of August will receive a complimentary movie rental subscription from Quickflix priced at $50.

This is the second deal stitched by Quickflix in the recent past, the last one being with grocery giant Woolworths Ltd, wherein the latter will launch a dedicated website in August following customers to rent more than 26,000 movies and TV series.

Quickflix chief executive Stephen Langsford said he was excited to be partnering with one of the country's biggest furniture and electrical retailers.

"One campaign led to another," he said. "We are in a period of increasing awareness of the online DVD rental model and (its) legitimacy, and it is great that some big brands are taking us seriously. I think there are other big-brand names outside of retailing that you may see some other activity happening with Quickflix along the way."

"In June Quickflix completed a $5 million capital raising, some of which was being used to deliver its promotional tie-ups through the retail sector. It will also enable Quickflix to do some of its own work in developing a brand and profile," he said. "It is a service growing in popularity, and our brand is starting to get out and about. We are being approached by some other interesting opportunities to partner."

Quickflix has had rapid success over the past year, increasing its subscriber base by 100 per cent and capturing a slice of the video rental market that had been dominated by the more traditional video stores.