| File:Lenskart logo.svg | |
| Industry | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Founder(s)s |
|
| Headquarters | , India |
Number of locations | 1000+ stores (2022) |
Area served |
|
Key people | Peyush Bansal (Chairman; MD & CEO) |
| Revenue |  ā¹1,503 crore (US$210 million) (FY 2022)[2] |
 ā¹ā102 crore (US$ā14 million) (FY 2022)[2] | |
Number of employees | 5,000+ (2020) |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | lenskart.com |
Lenskart is an Indian multinational optical prescription eyewear retail chain, based in Faridabad.[4] As of May 2022,[update] Lenskart has 1,000 stores across 223 cities in India.[5][6] Its manufacturing facility in New Delhi manufactures 3 lakh glasses a month.[7]
Lenskart is building an automated factory in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, with a production capacity of 5 crore glasses annually.[8]
History[edit | edit source]
Peyush Bansal, a former Microsoft employee, founded Lenskart.com in 2010 along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi.[9] In 2011, IDG Ventures India invested $4 million in the company and mandated it to also sell wristwatches, bags and jewellery online to replicate Titan Company's business.[10][11] In 2011, the company launched Watchkart.com and Bagskart.com, and the following year, it started Jewelskart.com.[12] By the end of 2014, only Lenskart.com remained operative as the company shut down its other three websites.[13]
In January 2015, the company raised ā¹135 crore from TPG Growth, TR Capital and IDG Ventures India.[14] In 2016, International Finance Corporation, Adveq Management, TPG Growth and IDG Ventures India invested a total of $60 million in Lenskart. The company also saw investments from Ratan Tata and Kris Gopalakrishnan.[15]
Lenskart launched the eyewear brand John Jacobs in 2017.[16][17] In October 2017, Lenskart signed up its first brand ambassador Katrina Kaif.[18][19]
In March 2018, Wiproās Chairman Azim Premji invested ā¹4 crore in the group, taking the valuation of the company to ā¹3,000 crore.[20][15] In 2018, the company became profitable, EBITDA positive.[7] In March 2019, the company hired Bhuvan Bam as its first male brand ambassador.[21] The company reached a valuation of $1 billion in December 2019 after SoftBank invested around $275 million.[22][23][5][24]
In June 2022, Lenskart announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Japanese eyewear brand Owndays in a cash-and-stock deal which valued Owndays at around US$400 million.[25]
References[edit | edit source]
- ā "Lenskart to launch 500 stores in 2020 and increase its focus on AI and digital marketing, says Co-founder, Amit Chaudhary". Retrieved 2 July 2021.
- ā 2.0 2.1 "Lenskart scale surpasses Rs 1,500 Cr in FY22, slips into losses". Entrackr. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ā "Lenskart-backed Neso Brands raises $100 million, appoints Bjorn Bergstrom CEO". Financial Express. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
- ā "Lenskart plans to hire over 2,000 employees in India by next year". mint. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ā 5.0 5.1 "Lenskart raises another $25 million in series I round; announces opening of 1,000th store in the country". Economic Times. 4 May 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā Sikdar, Shubhomoy (4 March 2019). "Lenskart sees more scope of growth in non-metros: CEO Peyush Bansal". Business Standard India. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā 7.0 7.1 Bali, Shinmin (4 November 2018). "Expansion Plan: Lenskart eyes 50% market share". The Financial Express. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "Lenskart may shift SE Asia manufacturing to India plant". mint. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā Poduwal, Sunanda (6 November 2011). "Peyush Bansal, founder of Lenskart in India, selling eyewear talks about his business journey". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "Valyoo Technologies raises $4M from IDG Ventures India". Reuters. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā "Adjust focus: How Peyush Bansal built Lenskart into a profitable unicorn". Forbes India. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā "After Lenskart, Watchkart & Bagskart, Valyoo Technologies' Jewelskart.com Goes Live". TechCircle. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā "Lenskart's Peyush Bansal on new funding, why he shut down three other e-com sites & more". VCCircle. 8 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā "Updated: Lenskart Is Raising INR 135 Cr. From TPG, TR Capital & IDG In Series C". Inc42. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ā 15.0 15.1 Sarkar, Ranju (23 May 2016). "How Lenskart is defying the start-up trend". Rediff. Business Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā PTI (13 January 2019). "John Jacobs to clock ā¹500 cr revenue by March 2021". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā PTI (4 February 2018). "Lenskart invests $4 million to expand John Jacobs brand stores". Livemint. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "Lenskart ropes in Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador". Moneycontrol. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "Katrina Kaif is Lenskart's first-ever ambassador". The Economic Times. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā Gooptu, Biswarup; Srinivasan, Supraja (2 March 2018). "Lenskart valuation touches Rs 3,000 Cr after a secondary transaction - ETtech". Economic Times Tech. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "Lenskart announces Bhuvan Bam as its new brand ambassador". Economic Times Brand Equity. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā "SoftBank Vision Fund invests $275M in India's Lenskart". TechCrunch.
- ā "Lenskart to become the next unicorn! Softbank to invest $350m at $1.3bn valuation". Business Today. 27 May 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā Sharma, Samidha; Gooptu, Biswarup (27 May 2019). "Lenskart set to turn unicorn with likely $350M SoftBank funding - ETtech". Economic Times ETtech.com. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
- ā Singh, Manish (30 June 2022). "Lenskart acquires majority stake in eyewear brand Owndays in $400 million deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 June 2022.