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Lenskart

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lenskart Solutions Limited
FormerlyValyoo Technologies Pvt Ltd (2008–2015)[1]
TypePublic
ISININE956O01016
Industry
Founded19 May 2008; 18 years ago (2008-05-19)[1]
Founders
Headquarters
Gurgaon, Haryana
,
India
Number of locations
2,000+ retail stores (2022)
Area served
Key people
Peyush Bansal (Chairman, MD & CEO)
Brands
  • John Jacobs
  • Hustlr
  • Lenskart Air
  • Vincent Chase
  • Lenskart Twyst
  • Aqualens
  • Hopper
  • Lenskart Studio
  • Lenskart Boost
RevenueIncrease ₹66.52 billion (US$690 million) (FY25)[4]
Increase ₹2.97 billion (US$31 million) (FY25)[4]
Number of employees
Decrease 3,236 (2025)
Subsidiaries
  • Owndays
  • Neso Brands[5]
Websitelenskart.com

Lenskart Solutions Limited is an Indian multinational eyewear company, based in Gurgaon. As a vertically integrated company, it designs, manufactures, distributes, and retails prescription and regular eyewear.[6] It sells its products through its website, a mobile app, and 2,000+ physical stores.

Lenskart has a manufacturing facility located in Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, with an annual production capacity of 50 million units.[2][3]

History

[edit]

In May 2008, Peyush Bansal founded the company as Valyoo Technologies, operating a college classifieds website, SearchMyCampus.com. After Amit Chaudhary joined as a co-founder in 2009, the company started Flyrr.com, an eyewear e-commerce platform in the US.[7] In November 2010, it discontinued both websites and launched Lenskart.com for selling contact lenses in India, expanding to eyeglasses and sunglasses in early 2011.[8] In September 2011, Sumeet Kapahi joined as the third co-founder.[9]

The company launched Watchkart.com and Bagskart.com in 2011, and Jewelskart.com in 2012, based on early investor IDG Ventures India's advice to replicate Titan's business model.[10][11][12] By the end of 2014, only Lenskart.com remained operative as the company shut down its other three websites to focus on the eyewear segment.[13] In 2015, Valyoo Technologies was renamed Lenskart Solutions.[1]

Co-founder and CEO of Lenskart, Peyush Bansal

Lenskart launched the eyewear brand John Jacobs in 2017.[14][15] In October 2017, Lenskart signed up its first brand ambassador Katrina Kaif.[16][17][18] In March 2019, the company hired Bhuvan Bam as its first male brand ambassador.[19]

In June 2022, Lenskart announced the acquisition of a majority stake in the Japanese eyewear brand Owndays [ja] in a cash-and-stock deal which valued Owndays at around US$400 million.[20] After the acquisition, the combined entity had an annual revenue of $650 million, with $250 million coming from Owndays.[21]

In 2025, Lenskart acquired an 80% stake in Spanish eyewear brand Meller for over €40 million.[22]

Controversies

[edit]

In 2024, Lenskart's franchise owners accused the company of numerous unfair business practices, including opening competing COCO (company-owned, company-operated) stores near their FOFO (franchise-owned, franchise-operated) outlets.[23] Some franchise owners from Karnataka filed an FIR in October 2024, alleging financial fraud, including revenue discrepancies and misuse of accounting software. While the Economic Offences Wing began investigation, Lenskart secured a stay order from the Karnataka High Court in January 2025, halting the probe.[23]

Following the circulation of an internal document online in April 2026 indicating that Lenskart's employees could wear specific religious attire, including hijabs and turbans, but restrictions were placed on visible Hindu symbols (hello again), including bindis, tilaks, and "sacred thread" (kalawa), Lenskart's workplace dress code came under scrutiny and received backlash on social media.[24] Many accused the company of having a religiously biased view of expressions of faith and treating people in an unequal manner based on their religion.[25][26]

Funding

[edit]

In 2011, IDG Ventures India invested $4 million in the company.[7] In January 2015, the company raised ₹1.35 billion (equivalent to ₹2.0 billion or US$21 million in 2023) from TPG Growth, TR Capital and IDG Ventures India.[27] In May 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.[28] In September 2016, Wipro's Chairman Azim Premji invested around ₹2 billion (equivalent to ₹2.9 billion or US$30 million in 2023) in Lenskart through his family office PremjiInvest.[29]

Lenskart was valued at over $1 billion in December 2019 after SoftBank Vision Fund invested $275 million.[30][31] In May 2021, KKR invested $95 million,[32] and in July 2021, Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital (Alpha Wave Global) led a $220 million investment round at a valuation of $2.5 billion.[33] In July 2022, Lenskart was valued at $4.5 billion following a $200 million funding round led by Alpha Wave Global.[34]

In March 2023, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority invested $500 million in Lenskart at a valuation of $4.5 billion.[3] In June 2023, the company raised $100 million from ChrysCapital.[35]

In June 2024, Lenskart secured $200 million from Temasek and Fidelity in a secondary deal at $5 billion valuation.[36][37]

In October 2025, Lenskart launched its initial public offering aiming to raise up to $828 million.[38]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 "LENSKART SOLUTIONS LIMITED" (PDF). Lenskart. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Lenskart may shift SE Asia manufacturing to India plant". mint. 29 August 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 Singh, Manish (15 March 2023). "ADIA invests $500 million in Lenskart". TechCrunch. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Lenskart Files Draft Papers With SEBI For INR 2,150 Cr IPO". Inc42. 29 July 2025. Retrieved 29 July 2025.
  5. ↑ "Lenskart-backed Neso Brands raises $100 million, appoints Bjorn Bergstrom CEO". Financial Express. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  6. ↑ "Lenskart plans to hire over 2,000 employees in India by next year". mint. 11 August 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  7. 1 2 J., Preethi (31 October 2011). "Valyoo Technologies Raises $4M From IDG Ventures India". VCCircle. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Sarkar, Ranju (22 May 2016). "Lenskart: Growing a category by improving access". Business Standard. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Valyoo Technologies raises $4M from IDG Ventures India". Reuters. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  11. ↑ "Adjust focus: How Peyush Bansal built Lenskart into a profitable unicorn". Forbes India. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  12. ↑ "After Lenskart, Watchkart & Bagskart, Valyoo Technologies' Jewelskart.com Goes Live". TechCircle. 16 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  13. ↑ "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.
  14. ↑ PTI (13 January 2019). "John Jacobs to clock ₹500 cr revenue by March 2021". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  15. ↑ PTI (4 February 2018). "Lenskart invests $4 million to expand John Jacobs brand stores". Livemint. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "Lenskart ropes in Katrina Kaif as brand ambassador". Moneycontrol. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  17. ↑ "Katrina Kaif is Lenskart's first-ever ambassador". The Economic Times. 10 October 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  18. ↑ Bali, Shinmin (4 November 2018). "Expansion Plan: Lenskart eyes 50% market share". The Financial Express. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  19. ↑ "Lenskart announces Bhuvan Bam as its new brand ambassador". Economic Times Brand Equity. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  20. ↑ Singh, Manish (30 June 2022). "Lenskart acquires majority stake in eyewear brand Owndays in $400 million deal". TechCrunch. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  21. ↑ Abrar, Peerzada (27 August 2022). "Lenskart sets sights on shipping 400 million specs a year". Business Standard. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  22. ↑ "India's Lenskart acquires 80 percent stake in Spanish brand Meller for over 40 million euros". FashionUnited. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
  23. 1 2 Anupam, Suprita (2 April 2025). "Lenskart built its empire on franchisees. Now it's battling them in courts". The Ken. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
  24. ↑ "Lenskart Dress Code Row: Company Issues Clarification". Bru Times News.
  25. ↑ "Black hijab and turban allowed but no bindi, chooda or tilak? Lenskart office policy making netizens furious - Peyush Bansal responds". The Times of India. 18 April 2026. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "No bindi, tilak, but hijab allowed? Lenskart clarifies after backlash over dress code". India Today. 16 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Updated: Lenskart Is Raising INR 135 Cr. From TPG, TR Capital & IDG In Series C". Inc42. 2 January 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  28. ↑ Sarkar, Ranju (23 May 2016). "How Lenskart is defying the start-up trend". Rediff. Business Standard. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  29. ↑ Chanchani, Madhav; Gooptu, Biswarup (7 September 2016). "PremjiInvest invests about Rs 200 crore in eyewear portal Lenskart". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  30. ↑ "SoftBank Vision Fund invests $275M in India's Lenskart". TechCrunch. 20 December 2019.
  31. ↑ "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.
  32. ↑ Bhalla, Tarush (17 May 2021). "KKR invests $95 million in Lenskart". mint. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  33. ↑ Singh, Manish (19 July 2021). "Lenskart valued at $2.5 billion following $220 million investment from Temasek and Falcon Edge Capital". TechCrunch. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  34. ↑ Mishra, Digbijay (4 July 2022). "Lenskart valued at $4.5 billion after new financing". The Economic Times. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  35. ↑ "Lenskart raises $100-mn in funding from private equity firm ChrysCapital". Business Line. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  36. ↑ "Lenskart Secures $200 Million, Poised for Billionaire Dollar IPO". Bru Times News.
  37. ↑ "Temasek, Fidelity pick up $200 million stake in Lenskart secondary deal at $5 billion valuation". The Economic Times. 3 June 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
  38. ↑ Suresh, Haripriya (27 October 2025). "India's Lenskart eyes up to $8 billion IPO valuation, aims to be 'Amazon of eyewear'". Reuters.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
[edit]
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