We have all heard about Café Coffee Day and visited it, too. Café Coffee Day or CCD is one of the finest businesses that grew out of a home. CCD was entrepreneur VG Siddhartha's coffee sector venture that revolutionised India's coffee culture. However, after the uncertain death of Siddhartha, everybody questioned how it would work out, having so much accumulated debt. Malavika Hegde, the wife of VG Siddhartha, took over the responsibility. While being a single mother of two boys, she has shattered all suspicions and saved CCD from disappearing.
This fantastic venture is led by the powerful woman ‘Malavika Hegde.’ Malavika Hegde is the daughter of former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna and now Café Coffee Day owner. She has worked for the company for many years as the only non-board member, and she learned the model quickly. When she took over as CEO, she promised the employers that she would decrease the debt levels to a considerable level.
Her Early Life and Family
Malavika Krishna was born in 1969 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. She pursued her early education at a local school there. Later, she went on to pursue engineering at Bangalore University. She belongs to the Vokkaliga community. Her father is a prominent figure in Indian politics. Her mother is a major social activist. She also has one younger sister named Shambhavi Krishna, who is a businesswoman. Malavika married VG Siddhartha in 1991, and they are parents to two boys, Eshaan and Amartya.
She immediately got involved in the coffee business post-wedding. In the initial days, she was on the CCD board but not an executive board member.
Her Education
The Café Coffee Day CEO Malavika Hegde completed her schooling at a private school in Karnataka and holds a degree in engineering. She started her entrepreneurial career after marriage and tasted success. She has the sole hand in taking CCD to greater heights and making it come out of the crisis. Her husband committed suicide, but she did not give up and rose like a phoenix from the ashes.
CEO of Café Coffee Day
The owner of Café Coffee Day Malavika Hegde started working in the coffee industry when she married VG Siddhartha. She serves on the CCD board but does not get compensation because she is a non-executive board member. In CCD, she owns 4 per cent of the stock. Malavika Hegde was able to pay down her debt after Siddhartha committed suicide despite the COVID-19 shutdown. She sent a message to the 25,000 employees of the company in 2020 before becoming the CEO. Malavika assured that the Café Coffee Day story was ’worth maintaining’ and stated that she was dedicated to the company's future. She has previously stated that although the difficulties grew, "my objective has been to uphold the great heritage of Siddhartha somewhere along the line in the last 12 months." Malavika wants to turn CCD into a multibillion-dollar business, free of debt. Malavika's ambition is to expand their coffee shops around the nation, carrying on her late husband's legacy.
Café Coffee Day currently owns 333 CCD Value Express kiosks and 572 cafés across the country. It is a sizable industry with more than 36,000 vending machines providing coffee to CCD customers.
Her Work
Malavika took charge of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd. in December 2020. Café Coffee Day owed over Rs 7,000 crore in debt as of 2019. It had said in its annual report that as of March 31, 2021, it had a net debt of Rs 1,731 crore. With a single rupee in concessions from lenders, the bank reduced the deficit from Rs 7,200 crore in March 2019 to Rs 3,100 crore as of March 31, 2020. Malavika's approach allowed Coffee Day to lower its debt to Rs 1,731 crore. Malavika never raised the price of the coffees it sold despite the company's mounting debt. She shut down several unprofitable outlets and withdrew hundreds of coffee vending machines installed at various IT parks and businesses.
Malavika wants to turn CCD into a multibillion-dollar business free of debt. As a result of COVID-19, numerous companies have closed. However, despite the pandemic, Café Coffee Day continued to expand. Malavika upholds the brand's value, cultivates relationships with numerous new investors to raise funds for their company, and can persuade the investors that the CCD brand is valuable enough to be preserved. Several precautions were put in place throughout the entire network of cafés while considering the COVID-19 safety regulations. This made it easier to entice returning customers to the cafés, who have always had a soft spot in their hearts for CCD.
Her Leadership Quality
Since day one, Malavika has worked tirelessly for the company's growth. It was a tough time for her as she had a personal loss, which added to her existing professional stress. This shows her professionalism because even during such a tough time, she managed to lead a large company with utmost honesty and dedication. She led around 25000 employees and gave them a letter as to how they would work in the direction of saving the company from such a crisis. After her husband's death, she managed to reduce its debt, which also happened during the COVID-19 period. She even mentioned once that challenges had increased over time, but the fire in her pushed her to maintain the proud legacy of her husband. The company had a debt of around Rs 7,000 crores in March 2019, and she managed to work to reduce the deficit.
By 2021, the burden of CCD had been reduced to Rs 1,731 crore, an outstanding achievement. She has maintained her brand's value and has tried to make new connections with investors so that they would infuse capital into their businesses.
A Source of Inspiration
The lady is quite an inspiration for other women and the society. The kind of determination and consistency she had at the most challenging time of her life made her, in the end, a successful businesswoman in India. She teaches us the qualities of being patient, being a great leader and being honest with our loved ones in the truest sense.
How she rose from a sinking ship to a well-maintained ship is inspiring. One can do anything if there is the proper amount of support, love and desire. Being a single mother added to her responsibilities, but she did not stop, making her a successful woman in today's time and a great example to follow. The quality of being committed to her work made her and her company shine even brighter. Even though coffee prices rose, CCD never increased its prices under Malavika Hegde's leadership. She did an excellent job of putting her husband's dream before hers and making it hers by working hard day and night over it.
Conclusion
At present, Café Coffee Day owns around 572 cafés in India. There are some Value Express kiosks, too. It started with huge success but slowly faded and rose again because of Malavika Hegde. Her wit and hard work gave rebirth to Café Coffee Day. It is great to know something as big as CCD came back with a bang under the leadership of a woman who came from a different professional background, but in the end, it is all worth it, and we can enjoy coffee from CCD right now, too.
FAQs
What is the current scenario with Café Coffee Day?
CCD has settled cases with SEBI recently. It is currently working at its full pace.
When was CCD started?
CCD was started on July 11, 1996, in Bangalore.
What is the main aim of CCD?
CCD intends to be the best among the rest by offering coffee and other additional delicacies at affordable rates.
How was the debt reduced post thedemise of VG Siddhartha?
The sudden demise of VG Siddhartha came as a shock to the entire world. It immensely impacted his wife Malavika Hegde but she stayed strong and decided to reduce the debts and bring the operations of CCD back in motion. Thus, post analysing the financial situation of CCD, she eliminated several coffee vending machines that were installed in different firms, IT parks, etc. It was found to be non-profitable as well as debt increasing. This brought down the debt to a major extent. Secondly, she also succeeded in acquiring new investors. This further helped her in increasing the capital and in the effective functioning of their business model.
Who is the current CEO of Café Coffee Day?
Mrs Malavika Siddhartha Hegde is the CEO and whole-time director of Café Coffee Day.