Newstrack

Coffee Day goes beyond beverage, gets into resorts

Sayoni Bhaduri - Bangalore

Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading, which manages the Café Coffee Day coffee brand, has ventured into the hospitality sphere with The Serai luxury resort and spa. Discussing the company's move, M Venkatesh, director of Coffee Day Resort, said, "Our first resort has been launched in Chikamaglur along with our coffee plantations, which is so close to our hearts."

After Chikamaglur, Coffee Day Resorts plans to set up resorts in Sakleshpur on the Bengaluru-Hassan highway, Mangalore and Mysore. Venkatesh added that construction on the Mangalore and Mysore projects will begin within the next three months and should be completed by December 2009. The company will fund all these projects with an approximate investment of Rs 200 crore through internal accruals and debt. "No private equity is envisaged as of now," added Venkatesh.

The properties have been developed keeping in mind the business opportunities which could leverage the existing strengths, he further said. "This is also a natural extension of offering an international experience albeit in the luxury market catering to an older target audience through a special campaign - The S proposition," said Venkatesh.