Premji Invest backs Lenskart

Eyewear marketplace Lenskart has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Premji Invest, the investment office of Azim Premji, Chairman and Founder of the Wipro Group. The infused investment is expected to be around Rs 200 crore, with a valuation of around Rs 2,000 crore. 

Founded in 2006, Premji Invest has so far funded more than 40 companies across sectors such as technology, consumer and retail, healthcare, and financial services. 

 With the fresh capital, Lenskart aims to expand access to high-quality and affordable eye-care products across India.

Peyush Bansal, CEO and Founder, Lenskart, said, 

With this collaboration, the company will be able to draw on Premji Invest’s extensive experience, particularly in retail and creating long-lasting brands to realise its potential and develop best practices. We intend to grow strategically, thereby strengthening our presence via both online and offline channels.

 Premji Invest, which has earlier also invested in Fabindia, Myntra, Future Lifestyle Fashions, and Vasmol, has had a strong focus on consumer and retail brands. 

Lenskart, with presence in the assembly, manufacturing, wholesale distribution, and supply of eyewear products such as eyeglasses, power sunglasses, and contact lenses had earlier secured investments from IFC (World Bank’s venture capital arm), TPG Growth, IDG Ventures, Unilazer Ventures, and Adveq. Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor for this transaction. 

Lenskart’s story so far 

Founded in 2010, Lenskart has an online as well as offline presence. The company claims to have grown more than 200 percent year on year in the last two years, to be among the top three optical businesses in India. With an employee strength of more than 900, Lenskart is present in over 100 stores across more than 66 cities in India.

The Delhi-based company had raised a whopping Rs 400 crore in a Series D round led by International Finance Corp earlier this year. Last year, the company had raised Rs135 crore in a Series C round of funding. Altogether, the company has so far raised Rs 600 crore. 

Sector overview 

Lenskart is a key player in the eyewear market and has grown rapidly in the last couple of years. The hefty investments in the company will only further strengthen its position in the market. Titan and offline players are the other key players in this segment. In this sector, the offline market is more dominant than its online counterpart, and Lenskart, which has been growing its offline presence over the past years, plans to generate 50 percent of its revenues from offline channels in the next two years.