Contacts, then frames, then factories, eye tests and stores. Listed in November 2025 after 15 years of standardising optical retail.
- Founded
- 2010
- IPO
- ₹7,278 crore; listed 10 Nov 2025 at ₹402 band top
- IPO valuation
- ~₹70,000 crore / ~$7.9–8B
- SoftBank unicorn round
- Dec 2019, $275 million
- Peyush Bansal stake
- ~9–10% around IPO (sold part in OFS)
The beginning
Peyush Bansal (McGill engineering, Microsoft) started with co-founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi; sister Neha Bansal (CA) leads merchandising and is a promoter. Early products were contact lenses online, then glasses. Side bets (Watchkart, Bagskart) were closed when they did not work.
The enduring insight: Indian optical retail was fragmented, opaque on lens pricing, and weak on fashion. A brand that owned the frame, the lens and the store could reset the customer experience.
The problem
- Buying glasses meant a neighbourhood optician, limited styles, and a hard-to-audit lens bill.
- Fashion eyewear was either cheap-and-breakable or luxury imports.
- Getting an eye test was a separate, inconvenient trip.
The idea
Vertical integration + omni-channel. 3D/AR try-on for online. Home eye tests. Physical stores for trust and conversion. Own manufacturing to control cost and lead time. A “try on” loop between phone and store.
Early execution
SoftBank’s 2019 round made Lenskart a unicorn. Temasek and Fidelity marked later private valuations around $5–6 billion. The November 2025 IPO raised about $821–828 million (fresh ₹2,150 crore + large OFS). It opened weakly (as low as ₹356) then closed near the issue price; by August 2026 Forbes described shares near ₹627 and an ~$11 billion market cap.
Business model
How value moves
- Sell frames + lenses (high attach of value-added coatings).
- Stores as conversion machines for a digital-first funnel.
- Manufacturing margin in addition to retail margin.
- International expansion (mentioned in founder roles) as a second geography.
Growth strategy
SKU fashion cycles, store density, eye-test as a traffic driver, celebrity/Shark Tank halo for Peyush, and a brand that made glasses a clothing accessory rather than a medical device.
Major milestones
2010
Founded; online contacts then eyewear.
2011–16
Frames, try-on tech, first stores; side brands shut.
2016–19
Home tests, 3D try-on; SoftBank unicorn.
2024
Temasek/Fidelity late-stage capital ~$5B marks.
Nov 2025
IPO and listing.
2026
Stock re-rating; founder paper billionaire (Forbes).
Challenges, failures and adaptation
Optical is still local. A national brand has to win against the trusted optician on fit and after-sales, not only on Instagram.
Valuation (high P/E discussed at IPO) requires continued execution. SoftBank reducing stake post lock-in is normal PE/VC behaviour, not a verdict on the stores.
GMI analysis
The following is Grow My India’s interpretation of documented information. It is not a statement by the company.
What we can learn
Kill the side brand.
How to apply it. If a second SKU line cannot share operations with the first, shut it. Lenskart shut Watchkart.
Make the invisible visible.
How to apply it. Show the customer what they cannot inspect (lens index, coatings, warranty) in plain language at the shelf.
Stores can be a conversion layer for digital.
How to apply it. Measure store footfall that started on the app. If the number is zero, your channels are not a system.
Sources & references
Research updated September 2026. Time-sensitive figures are dated in the story. Publicly unavailable claims are omitted rather than invented.
- Meet the entrepreneur whose vision made him a billionaire — Forbes, 2026
- Lenskart recovers from tepid open — TechCrunch, 2025
- Directors’ report — listing 10 Nov 2025 — Lenskart Solutions / Goodreturns excerpt, 2026
Continue exploring
Practical skills behind these journeys
These stories are free public education — not advertisements. If a growth or marketing theme here is relevant to your work, GMI’s eBook catalogue and skill programmes sit alongside this library.
