"Think of the children!" pleaded Mrs Banks to her nanny, something the majority of fashion brands are doing in order to get a cut of the surplus income of plugged-in millennials. However, department store David Jones is turning its focus on the type of customer the aspirational, empowered, well-heeled Mrs Banks represents.

While its rival Myer is making changes to appeal to the cool kids by partnering with brands like Topshop, David Jones is on track to become the Barneys or Bergdorf Goodman of Australia – iconic luxury stores that stock everything from silk blouses to smoked salmon. Now DJs chief executive John Dixon is hungry, and wants a bigger slice of the premium customer pie.

"Customers are seeing retail as a leisure occasion, not just ticking things off a shopping list. Things like food, cafes, free Wi-Fi and beauty services allow them to spend a bit more time. If they want to spend a whole day here, we want to make it easy for them," he told Fairfax Media.

This new blueprint has already been rolled out at Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast and, this week, in the first store in New Zealand where customers experience a curated selection of brands and services, including beauty rooms and personal shopping as well as a gourmet cafe. Kale salads and artisan croissants have replaced stale muffins and milky flat whites on the menu aimed at the upwardly mobile.

The former head of Marks & Spencer's $9 billion food business, who has been with David Jones for seven months, has also made his mark on the executive level. Merchandising doyenne Donna Player left the business suddenly in May as Dixon ushered in a raft of changes upstairs. Player's replacement, long-serving Woolworths South Africa lieutenant David Collins, starts on Monday and will be embedded in stores to review the portfolio of brands.

"Whenever you make changes you bring in fresh thinking. David will see things through a fresh pair of eyes which is a good thing for us as we are restlessly dissatisfied and constantly looking at ways to give our customers an even better product offering," Dixon said. "David's got a huge amount of apparel knowledge. He spent his working life in various fashion categories, he's got a breadth that goes beyond women's fashion. He knows David Jones because he was involved in some of the pre-acquisition and post-acquistion work, he understands the Woolworths Holdings ethos and our values."

Food has since been elevated to an executive level as has the retailer's digital platforms that will soon be headed up by John Bovill, a digital strategist who cut his teeth at Harrods and American chain store Sears.

Ambassadors – the glossy-haired celebrities who are the faces of the brand, like Jessica Gomes and Jesinta Campbell – have Dixon's full support. However Montana Cox, an Australia's Next Top Model alumna, will not have her contract renewed. The 22-year-old will remain a part of the "David Jones family" but not in an official capacity like she has done for the past three years.

"Ambassadors will change from time to time," Dixon said.

Dixon reaffirmed his commitment to Australian labels, something he credits to a strong local economy as well as the old-world hallmarks for which the retailer is renowned, including the grand piano of the flagship Elizabeth Street store and the annual Christmas windows display. He also confirmed the sale of the Market Street premises – the home of menswear and famous food hall – is now "underway".

Next week David Jones will debut its spring-summer 2016 collections. Garb by high-end names like Romance Was Born, Camilla & Marc and Christopher Esber will be showcased for a VIP crowd that will include, for the first time, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. The Armani-loving, Kailis pearls-wearing politician will be treated to New York inspired canapes by Neil Perry, bottomless Billecart-Salmon champagne and the company of business titans and famous types like Adam Goodes.

The reporter travelled travelled to New Zealand courtesy of David Jones.

"Bergdorf's", as it's known to native New Yorkers, has been a Fifth Avenue landmark since opening its doors in 1901. Discerning customers – think Park Avenue princesses – flock here for the latest Gucci, a bite of the famous Gotham Salad and a $600 haircut by Hillary Clinton's stylist John Barrett.

Founded by Barney Pressman in 1923, the modern foundations of Barneys New York can be credited to his son, Fred, who turned the department store into a luxury mecca after launching Giorgio Armani into the United States in the 1960s. Today, it's where shoppers go to browse the fashion-forward edits of some of the biggest designer brands or be seen lunching at the inhouse restaurant, Fred's.