Lenskart sees itself as the largest eyewear retailer in India in terms of revenue, even with a meagre 4-6% of the market in its command. The observation comes from the draft IPO papers filed by the Peyush Bansal-led firm last week.

Does it look through a foggy lens? Well, in a grossly fragmented market with unorganised players controlling 76% of the $9.2 Bn retail pie, according to the draft IPO papers, the share of the branded retailer is arguably one of its biggest chunks.

The share of D2C brands in organised eyewear retail is still smaller, but Lenskart secured a distinct position there by playing the affordability card. It worked, beyond doubt, in India’s price-sensitive market. The company closed FY25 with a business of INR 4,060.6 Cr from India. And, there’s a huge room for disruption, as the penetration of prescription eyeglasses in India remains modest at 35%, claimed the company.

Nearly 53% of India’s bespectacled populace suffer from some kind of refractive errors, simply put, vision defects, according to a Redseer report that Lenskart quoted in its draft IPO papers. The reason being a lack of awareness, poor density of eyewear stores, and most importantly, high prices.

These facts helped Lenskart build its array of eyewear products, evolve from a tech-first marketplace to an omnichannel retailer with more than 2,000 outlets across the country, and go for a public float.

The SoftBank-backed company looks to raise INR 2,150 Cr from fresh shares, with its offer-for-sale component raising the issue size to INR 7,500 Cr to INR 8,000 Cr, making it one of the largest public issues to hit the primary market in the near future. The company has also converted to a public entity ahead of its $750 Mn to $1 Bn public float at a valuation of $7-8 Bn.

A rosy picture indeed, unless we put down the rose-tinted glasses and see the reality eye-to-eye.

Looking Through The Lens Of Reality

Lenskart aims to create a dent in one of the most convoluted retail segments in India, where the average selling price of a pair of prescription eyeglasses hovers at INR 2,370 ($28), which is certainly not within the reach of half a billion people from the disadvantaged section and suffering from some kind of vision anomaly.

It’s a market where even the giants like Titan Group and Reliance have failed to crack the code and the street-corner chasmawala (unbranded eyeglass seller) remains more trusted than the fancy eyewear brands.

Our eyes are turning weaker, thanks to endless........

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