Eyewear retail major Lenskart has raised over USD 275 million from Softbank Vision Fund. The investment will be utilised for augmenting the Faridabad-based company’s tech capabilities and strengthening its supply chain infrastructure.
The fresh round of investment, which includes some stake sale from early investors, is reportedly taking the firm’s valuation to a whopping USD 1.5 billion. "A large part of this investment will go towards building next generation technology and supply chain to deliver the next billion glasses with focus on quality, best pricing and customer experience," said Peyush Bansal, founder and CEO, Lenskart. "We are thrilled to have Softbank Vision Fund with us in our journey. Their understanding of consumer and technology will help us build the next edition of Lenskart."
The Vision Fund, a subsidiary of SoftBank, invests USD 100 million or more in growth stage of leading companies. So far in India, it has made investment in top start-ups such as ride-hailing company Ola, PolicyBazaar, grocery start-up Grofers, logistics player Delhivery, Firstcry, PayTM, hospitality major Oyo Rooms.
Founded by Peyush Bansal and Amit Chaudhary, Lenskart began as an e-commerce service to sell eyeglasses, contact lenses and eye care products, but in recent years it has expanded rapidly to brick and mortar stores. It has over 500 stores across more than 100 cities in India. It plans to set up 2,000 stores in the country over the next five years. "We have over 5,000 styles of eyewear, which is five times more than that of any retailer in India, from big brands like RayBan and Oakley to the best in house brands," claims the retailer.
Operational side, the nine-year old firm is on the path to be profitable. The firm, which faces stiff competition from established offline brands, such as the Tata Group-owned Titan Eyeplus, narrowed losses substantially and witnessed 56 per cent rise in revenue last fiscal. Its net loss came down to Rs 27.89 crore in FY19, compared to a net loss of about Rs 118 crore in fiscal year 2017-18, while its operating revenue was Rs 474.31 crore, a significant jump from Rs 292.35 crore in FY18.
According to its finding, 15 million people in India are blind, which is 50 per cent of the blind people in the world. It adds 75 per cent of these cases can be avoidable. Similarly, 153 million people need reading glasses but they don’t have access to them.“Lenskart’s aim is to help drop this number marginally in coming years, which can be achieved by providing high quality eyewear to millions of Indians at affordable prices,” it said.
Vision Fund’s investment in Indian firms
Vision Fund, a subsidiary of SoftBank, invests USD 100 million or more in leading firm. So far in India, it has made investment in top start-ups such as ride-hailing firm Ola, PolicyBazaar, grocery start-up Grofers, logistics player Delhivery, Firstcry, Paytm, hospitality major Oyo Rooms