storied address in Australian retail – and arguably its most pressured corner office. David Jones officially announced Berchtold as its new chief executive, ousting Scott Fyfe after six years in the role. She becomes the first female CEO in the department store’s 188-year history, taking the helm at a business carrying cumulative losses of nearly $170 million over its past two financial years and navigating an intensifying competitive landscape that has already claimed global peers including Barneys New York and Canada’s Hudson’s Bay. A career built on improbable bets Berchtold’s first retail job was on the women’s wear floor at Grace Bros – the chain that would later become Myer, now her direct competitor. After abandoning her short-lived PR career, she rose through Harvey Norman’s buying ranks before becoming general manager of Rebel, then the sportswear chain under Harvey Norman’s ownership in the early 2000s. When Super Retail Group acquired Rebel in 2011, it tapped Berchtold to run the business again – a rare vote of confidence that speaks to a pattern across her career: she is repeatedly called back when situations get complicated. She spent nearly seven years growing Rebel to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue before pivoting to The Iconic, where she scaled the online fashion retailer to over $700 million in net annual revenue as CEO from 2019. A stint at Mosaic Brands – the struggling owner of Millers, Rockmans and Noni B – followed, where she once again stepped into a business under financial strain. “I’m an accidental retailer,” Berchtold told Inside Retail in 2023. “I didn’t imagine my career would be retail. But now I wouldn’t want to do anything else.” The scale of the task The business Berchtold inherits is, in many respects, a storied brand at war with its own perception. David Jones operates 38 locations across Australia and New Zealand – including flagship investments underway in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne – alongside its e-commerce platform and mobile app. Yet despite carrying some of Australia’s most exclusive luxury and designer labels, it has struggled to communicate that value to consumers. “We have a perception problem,” Berchtold told the Australian Financial Review in a recent interview. “We have all these amazing, exclusive brands. People don’t know they are here.” The frank admission sets the tone for what she has described as a core priority: repositioning David Jones not just operationally, but in the minds of shoppers who have drifted toward brand mono-stores and international e-tailers. Her mandate is anchored in the INSPIRE30 strategy – a five-year, data-led transformation plan centred on premium positioning, omnichannel growth, operating model efficiency and brand elevation. Alongside her appointment, David Jones also completed a new three-year asset-backed lending facility with restructuring specialist Hilco, providing balance sheet stability and renewed capacity to support vendor partnerships. “The refinancing allows us to stabilise and reset the business with a strong focus on growing our strategic core and modernising our technology and digital platforms,” Berchtold said. Facing a revamped rival Berchtold does not enter a vacuum. Across the floor, figuratively speaking, Myer CEO Olivia Wirth has been executing her own brand overhaul – adding younger-skewing labels including Just Jeans, Dotti and Topshop, and revamping the Myer One loyalty programme. Where Myer has leaned into accessibility and breadth, Berchtold’s early signals suggest David Jones will double down on curation and premiumisation. “My aim is to further improve customer experience by curating our brand so that our strategy is aligned with our core values and the needs of our customers,” she said. “I plan to lead our incredible team of people with decisive and results-oriented action.” Decisive action is precisely what Berchtold has built her reputation on. From a Grace Bros shop floor to the top of Australia’s oldest continuously operating department store, she has consistently chosen the harder assignment. Whether that instinct can restore David Jones to sustained profitability will define the next chapter of both her career – and an irreplaceable piece of Australian retail history. Further reading: Scott Fyfe ousted as David Jones CEO, Berchtold named successor