y Rose, UK chief executive; and senior store manager John Carter, as well as a phalanx of support staff dressed in the colours of Microsoft’s logo. The new store – the company’s second-largest after New York – has a gaming lounge, a multi-purpose community theatre and a McLaren sportscar on the ground floor. Rose said the store was a “symbol of Microsoft’s enduring commitment to the UK”, which allows people to “experience the best the company has to offer”. “Thank you for helping us make history,” she said. Starbucks gets speedy in China After 20 years serving the Chinese market, US coffee giant Starbucks has opened its first express retail store in China, called Starbucks Now, which is aimed at speeding up and simplifying coffee pickup and delivery. The new store marks a departure from many Starbucks signature features. It is located in Beijing’s financial district and has a minimalist design and limited seating. It features a novel organisational system, in which delivery drivers are directed to portals to pick up their orders, thus streamlining the process of getting coffee from the store to the waiting consumer.   There are baristas in-store to deal with walk-in coffee orders, but primarily Starbucks Now is about servicing app and website purchases.  Crabtree & Evelyn returns edgier Beauty brand Crabtree & Evelyn is preparing to relaunch online ahead of opening flagship “concept” stores in major cities throughout the world, including reopening in Australia.  The brand’s owner, Hong Kong-listed company Nan Hai Corp, has created an entirely new brand identity for the US-founded company. According to Singapore website Today, the new-look Crabtree & Evelyn has dropped the  flowery packaging and English rose garden feeling for a much edgier, millennial-focused vibe. The new identity is underpinned by the tagline “Born Curious. Grown Wild”. Crabtree & Evelyn closed its 12 Australian stores in January of this year shortly after the Canadian subsidiary was placed into administration resulting in the closure of its 19 stores there. Burberry’s new designs lift sales Burberry is hailing the success of new creative director Riccardo Tisci as its June-quarter same-store sales grew by 4 per cent. Sales growth in China was up by the mid-teens, with Asia Pacific overall nudging 10 per cent. “This was a good quarter in our multi-year journey to transform Burberry,” said CEO Marco Gobbetti. “We increased the availability of products designed by Riccardo, while continuing to shift consumer perceptions of our brand and align our network to our new creative vision. The consumer response was very promising, delivering strong growth in our new collections.” As part of a revamp intended to propel the UK brand into the same orbit as Gucci and Dior, Burberry replaced its longstanding creative supremo, Christopher Bailey, with Tisci in 2018, and the former Givenchy designer has been overhauling the British label best known for its trenchcoats and signature check. LVMH buys into Stella McCartney French multinational luxury goods conglomerate LVMH has bought a cornerstone share in UK fashion group Stella McCartney House. Full details of the deal will be released in September, however LVMH has confirmed that Stella McCartney will continue as creative director and ambassador of her brand, while holding majority ownership. LVMH’s archrival house Kering previously held a stake in Stella McCartney House until the celebrity bought it out in March last year. The two new partners said their arrangement will aim to accelerate Stella McCartney House’s worldwide development in terms of business and strategy, yet remain faithful to its commitment to sustainable and ethical luxury fashion. Stella McCartney will hold a specific position and role on sustainability within LVMH as special adviser to chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault and the executive committee members.