Last Lap On Bitter Coffee

The Cafe Coffee Day founder’s death leaves behind unanswered questions

- Ajay Sukumaran

When he started Air Deccan in 2003, Captain G.R. Gopinath offered a novel deal to V.G. Siddhartha, late founder of the Café Coffee Day (CCD) Group. How about in-flight catering (snacks and beverages) with no rent or other bills, and air-hostesses doubling up as CCD’s salesgirls? Gopinath’s idea was of stores in the air for a 30 per cent commission. “He (Siddhartha ) sealed the deal in less than an hour,” Gopinath reminisces about an entrepreneur he admired. That, in essence, defined the CCD founder’s business acumen. As Gopinath puts it, just instincts and drive. And loads of ambition.

Despite being former Karnataka CM S.M. Krishna’s son-in-law, Siddhartha was regarded as a self-made businessman. In 25 years, he became the country’s largest coffee exporter, built a popular retail brand with 1,750 CCD outlets, and invested profitably in several tech firms. Despite criticism that banks favoured his group, he was respected for his passion, success and commitment. He had everything going for him. That’s why his friends and colleagues were traumatised by his untimely death. Siddhartha went missing on July 29 and his body was found two days later by three fishermen at the Hoige Bazaar beach in Mangalore. It was billed as a possible suicide.

Of course, there were murmurs in the market about the group’s huge debts—the consolidated balance sheet (2017-18) puts the liabilities at almost Rs 6,000 crore. But, until a few days before his death, the situation seemed under control. He had just sold the group’s stake in MindTree, a tech firm, and made a net profit (minus expenses and taxes) of Rs 2,100 crore. There were media reports of other potential deals to offload portions of the stakes in real estate and coffee. In retrospect, it is evident he was under tremendous pressure. In a typed letter, whose authenticity is in doubt, Siddhartha opened out his heart.