Flagship of 'new' Starbucks unveiled

STARBUCKS' "flagship" cafe on Edinburgh's Royal Mile has become the first of its stores in Scotland to demonstrate the coffee giant's "new approach" to interior design.

In response to customer criticism that the firm's stores were bland and identikit, the Seattle-based group has launched a 24 million refurbishment of some of its best performing locations. A total of 100 UK outlets will be redesigned by September, including 20 in Scotland.

The Edinburgh cafe joins others in London, Madrid, Paris and New York to take on a more local character under Tim Pfeiffer, senior vice-president of Starbucks global design. The new-look store on the Royal Mile features vintage floor tiles and wallpaper and locally-crafted wooden furniture. Books in the upstairs library have been sourced at Oxfam and Barnardos charity shops.

Pfeiffer said: "We're the first retailer in our sector to adopt this approach to store design which results in stores that look distinctively local and which fit within their neighbourhoods."

Yesterday, Starbucks said it had enjoyed a year of sales growth in the UK and Ireland. In the quarter to June, the firm saw like-for-like sales rise 5 per cent, although this is lower than the US where sales grew 7 per cent in the same period.