SYDNEY – Australian department store chain David Jones has appointed Erica Berchtold as chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Berchtold, the retailer’s chief commercial officer since May 2025, succeeds Scott Fyfe, who has been in the CEO role since October 2020.
During his tenure, Fyfe oversaw the 2022 ownership transition of David Jones from Woolworths South Africa to Sydney-based private equity firm Anchorage Capital Partners and the implementation, from 2023, of a 250 million Australian dollar “Vision 2025+” transformation strategy, or $168 million at 2023 exchange. The company currently operates 38 stores across Australia and New Zealand, as well as davidjones.com.
“We are fully appreciative of [Fyfe’s] efforts during complex times and wish him all the best in his future endeavours” said a spokesperson for Anchorage Capital Partners, which also announced a restructured financing arrangement, via a new three-year, asset-backed lending facility with the Asia-Pacific arm of British financial investment and restructuring advisory company Hilco Capital.
Berchtold, 50, the former CEO of Australian online retailer The Iconic and before that, of Australian budget-fashion conglomerate Mosaic Brands, becomes the first woman to helm David Jones, which was founded in 1838 and is the oldest continuously operating department store in the world still trading under its original name.
