An Interesting tale of how Lenskart revolutionized the eyewear industry in India

Starting as an online player in 2010, Lenskart adopted an omnichannel approach to make eyewear available online, in malls, streets, and at home. Lenskart was founded by Peyush Bansal in Delhi with fellow co-founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi which joined at a later date. Lenskart has now become the brand with worth more than 400 crores. Today, Lenskart is the fastest growing eyewear business in India. Lenskart is the largest online eCommerce which deals in lenses, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other services.

Peyush Bansal who started Lenskart and led the company to success was a former Microsoft techie working in the USA earning a handsome salary. But after a few years of working in a job, he got bored with his job. In 2007, he came back to India with a hope to start something new. He knew the potential in an online portal and started “My Campus.com”. A website for students where they can find information such as accommodations, books, part-time jobs, etc. By the year 2010, the online business in India had experienced rapid growth. To utilize the changing landscape in the eCommerce industry, he decided to launch Lenskart.com for selling eyewear online.

In 2011, Lenskart had raised the amount of Rs. 22 crores in the first round of funding from IDG Ventures India. In Feb 2013, they raised the 2nd round of funding of Rs. 30 crores from Unilazer ventures and 3rd round of funding of Rs 140 crores from TPG Capital and IDG Ventures in 2015. This Delhi-based start-up has raised Rs 400 crore in a new round of funding led by International Finance Corporation,and it saw its valuation triple to Rs 1,700 crore (Rs 17 billion). Ratan Tata, Tata Sons, and S Gopalakrishnan, co-founder of Infosys, also invested in this round, and for a good reason.

Eyewear Market in India

Indian Eyewear is a potential $10 billion market which is growing more than 30% on a year on year basis. With potential, it’s also a profitable business with margins as high as 500%. In India, almost 153 million people need spectacles today out of which only 25% have access to it. This is due to the acute shortage of optometrists. This is where Lenskart comes into the picture. Lenskart added high-quality manufacturing and supply units to reach consumers everywhere in India. This high-quality products at affordable prices helped them grow at an exponential rate with reaching over 1,00,000 customers in a month.

Lenskart revolutionized the eyewear industry in India with its exceptional features and services. It has implemented a home eye check-up service where a trained optometrist will be there to assist you. Lenskart is using innovative technologies for the better convenience and satisfaction of the customers.

With more than 400 Lenskart stores in India, it has become a dominant player in both the online and offline market of eye wears. Lenskart is providing a platform where people can order from a huge variety of sunglasses, eyeglasses and contact lenses. It offers over 5000 frames & glasses which is more than any retailer in India and more than 45 kinds of high-quality lenses. This makes it one of India’s top two eye wear firms.

Optical solutions provider Lenskart, having turned profitable, is looking beyond being a manufacturer and retailer for eyewear and now wants to solve vision correction as a whole. Lenskart will launch a function that will allow customers to check the power of spectacles within the app and by the end of 2019, the company plans to roll out a pilot that would enable users to conduct eye tests using an app. Armed with an offline expansion strategy, the aim of Peyush Bansal, founder, and CEO, Lenskart, is to own 50% of market share in eye wear in the next few years.