Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha was an inspiration for an entire generation for making a stellar Indian brand that could take on international giants. But in July 2019, his tragic death shocked the entire nation. His brand was left with a gigantic debt of Rs 7,000 crore. Business analysts feared it was the beginning of the end for CCD. Siddhartha’s demise left a huge question mark on the survival of the brand amid the financial crisis. Enter Malavika Hegde.

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The tragic loss of a life partner is not one which is easy to recover from. Yet Siddhartha’s wife Malavika Hegde stepped up and took over the reins of the brand. The mother of two became CEO of CCD-parent Coffee Day Enterprises Limited (CDEL) around the end of 2020. She reassured the nearly 25,000 workforce of CCD that she would fight for the brand’s survival.

With a mounting debt and the Covid-19 pandemic adding to the challenge, Malavika decided to consolidate the business. She took shrewd business decisions that scripted a remarkable turnaround for the brand. With focus on reducing debt and ensuring the brand stays afloat, Malavika made a big move to not raise prices of several signature products.

She downsized operations by moving out of outlets and locations which were not churning profit for the brand. From 1,752 outlets in FY19, CCD now has less than one-third in FY23 at 469 outlets. Her efforts led to the debt reducing to Rs 1,731 crore in March 2021 and further down to 465.25 crore in 2023.

In her own words, Malavika’s “mission has been to uphold the proud legacy” of her late husband. Malavika comes from an esteemed background with her father SM Krishna is a former chief minister of Karnataka.