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V G Siddhartha Coffee King of Karnataka‚Chairman of ABCTCL |
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| Name |
V. G. Siddhartha Hegde |
| Company |
ABCTCL |
| Education |
Msc( Economics) |
| Head quarters |
Bangalore |
| Industry |
Agriculture, Distribution, Retail |
| Country |
India |
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Some facts |
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» Non Traditional coffee Market |
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» Grows 4 % of world coffee |
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» Consumes 30% of coffee produced |
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» Coffee culture unknown until late 1990 |
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» V G Siddhartha’s family has been in the coffee business for more than 130 years |
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» The group owns 7‚000 + acres and manages another 3000 acres |
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» ABCTCL are the largest producers of Arabica coffee in Asia |
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» Cafe Coffee Day has 760 cafes in 115 cities in India |
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| Current responsibilities: |
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Strategise value creation for shareholders and propel growth of return on investment, maintain investor relations and is a core member of GTV's Investor Committee |
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Board Seats: |
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GTV, Mindtree; Liqwid Krystal; Way2Wealth; Ittiam |
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The Beginning |
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"When I was a young man just out of college in Mangalore‚I decided that I wanted to get into business and make a lot of money: albeit‚in a very respectable manner." |
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There were three options that he considered seriously at that time: exports of some kind‚trading in stocks and shares‚and trading in metals. Metals‚he discarded‚as ‘not a very pretty option‘.
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Even though his family owned some coffee plantations in Chikmagalur in Karnataka‚Siddhartha started out in life as a research analyst at JM Financial‚a financial services group‚back in 1983‚after graduating in economics from the state’s Mangalore University. At that time‚all he dreamt of was earning Rs 2.5 lakh a year. |
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His First Job |
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After a two – year stint with J M Financial Services‚when Siddhartha returned to Bangalore‚his father gave him a good amount of money to start any business of his choice. Siddhartha promptly bought a stock market card for Rs 30‚000 with it‚along with a company called Sivan and Company‚as well as a site in the city.While researching stocks‚he discovered that Indian farmers used to get 35 cents for 1 kg of coffee‚ while their overseas counterparts were getting $1.27. "I was a very smart trader‚" says Siddhartha with an endearing kind of self pride. "I made money almost every day on the stock market. And with whatever money I made‚ I kept buying coffee plantations in Chikmagalur.My family background was such that I had a mindset that the new economy might not be the greatest‚and that solid‚tangible‚physical assets like land were the best to own." |
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By 1985‚he was a full – time proprietary investor in the stock market and owner of 10‚000 acre of coffee farms. |
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When the stock market crashed in the early 1990’s‚Siddhartha began to look around for a new investment avenue that would spin him good returns. He decided to invest in technology. |
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First Company |
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Thus began Sivan Securities‚which is now a major player in the South Indian capital market‚which is now featured among the top 12 investment brokers in the country. It has a network of 35 offices spread over 25 cities in South India catering to both corporate and retail clientele |
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GTV was formally launched only in May 1990‚but along with its promoting company Sivan Securities‚already has stakes in 24 young companies‚including high profile start–ups like Sabeer Bhatia‘s Arzoo!.com‚Ashok Soota‘s MindTree Consulting‚Ramana Gogula‘s Liqwid Krystal and B V Jagadeesh‘s NetMagic. Siddhartha‘s company Sivan holds 80 per cent in GTV. |
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GTV has now set up a global technology village on a 59– acre technology incubator park in Bangalore‚which will provide its companies office space‚communication links‚recreational facilities and even a commercial centre. |
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He says‚"When coffee trading was liberalized in the 1993‚I doubled the money I had invested in the plantations within a year." |
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Birth of ABCTCL |
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ABCTCL was born in 1993‚ a company focused on coffee exports.
Next came the task of selling coffee directly to the consumer through neighbourhood Fresh and Ground (F&G) stores. The success of these stores was indicative of the potential of coffee retail.
In 1996‚the first CCD store opened on Bangalore’s crowded Brigade Road‚where a coffee and an hour of Internet surfing cost Rs 100. In doing this‚Siddhartha and his team went against the better judgement of his MBA friends. |
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"Then‚I thought selling coffee in bulk as a commodity without branding had no future‚" continues Siddhartha. So he started special retail outlets for his branded coffee powder all over Karnataka. He now has 18 outlets in Tamil Nadu‚20 in Andhra Pradesh‚6–7 in Kerala and about 90 all over Karnataka. |
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Siddhartha certainly seems to be blessed with that special intuition that enables him pick out business areas that are poised for takeoff‚and get into them before everyone else. This will probably make him one of the major players in the money game in the country soon enough. |
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Success mantra |
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Have the willpower to persist and simply refuse to give up. |
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Object of admiration |
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Infosys and its team’s success which achieved its target of $1 billion sales. |
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Biggest obstacle |
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Spiralling real estate prices which have made it difficult to get retail locations. |
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Awards |
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The Economic Times – Brand Equity survey 2008 |
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India’s most trusted brands – ranked No. 2 in the ‘Food Services‘+ segment |
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CCD ranked as No. 31 in the top 50 service brands |
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"Best Coffee Bar" award from Times Food Guide 2007 – New Delhi |
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"Best Coffee Shop" award Times Food Guide 2007 – Mumbai |
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Awaaz Consumer Awards 2006 – Best Coffee Shop Brand |
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V G Siddhartha was voted as the "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Economic Times in 2003 – for crafting a successful pan Indian brand from a commodity business and giving Indian consumers a new life style experience that is within the reach of the common man. |
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Courtesy : Web |
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* Data is at least as current as the most recent Definitive Proxy. |
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