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Tag: Lenskart IPO

  • Lenskart Aims for the Spotlight: IPO DRHP Filing Expected in Early July

    In the first two weeks of July, the unicorn in the eyewear industry, Lenskart, will file DRHP for its IPO. It will opt for a public DRHP rather than the confidential DRHP route.

    Lenskart is choosing full public disclosure over the confidential IPO filing path with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which is what several of its competitors, such as Swiggy, Groww, Meesho, PhysicsWallah, and Boat, have chosen.

    The confidential route gives businesses flexibility and protection during the pre-IPO stage while preserving the privacy of sensitive business information during early regulatory examinations.

    A public file, on the other hand, instantly makes the DRHP available to the public, exposing all financial data, corporate specifics, and strategic intentions to inspection. Lenskart’s decision to be transparent points to a solid and planned business strategy.

    Massive IPO Plan Marking Lenskart’s Valuation at $10 Billion

    According to reports, Lenskart is getting ready for a big $1 billion IPO with a $10 billion valuation target. Its tremendous development and market leadership are reflected in this aim, which is almost twice its prior private market valuation.

    A group of top investment banks, including Kotak, Axis Capital, Citi, Morgan Stanley, and Avendus, have joined forces with Lenskart to oversee this massive IPO.

    The company’s confidence stems from its growing global footprint and its leading position in the Indian omnichannel eyewear market.

    Lenskart has a distinct competitive advantage because it presently has no direct competitors in the new economy sector, and Titan Eye Plus, its closest listed competitor, works on a much smaller scale.

    Financial Dynamics of Lenskart

    With a sales base of INR 5,427.7 crore, the company posted a loss of INR 10.15 crore in FY24. Despite being a loss, it greatly reduced losses by 84% when compared to FY23’s INR 63.7 crore, indicating a concentration on both expansion and strict financial control.

    An excellent measure of the company’s market penetration is the revenue growth of 43.2% in FY24 compared to FY23. The company has not yet released its financial results for FY25.

    Lenskart, which was founded by Peyush and Neha Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Ramneek Khurana, and Sumeet Kapahi, has grown outside of India. Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates are among the important foreign markets in which it works.

    The business has made significant investments in international growth, including the purchase of the majority of the Japanese eyewear company OWNDAYS, which was estimated to be worth $400 million in 2023.

    With ambitions to create up to 400 new stores in Southeast Asian nations over the next two years, this calculated move intends to further establish the company as a global leader in eyeglasses.

    In Hyderabad, Telangana, Lenskart just started construction of the biggest eyewear facility in the world, which will serve both the domestic and international markets.

    ADIA, ChrysCapital, SoftBank, Alpha Wave, Temasek, and Fidelity are just a few of the well-known investors that have helped Lenskart collect more than $1 billion in capital to date, demonstrating their tremendous faith in the company’s business plan and future growth.

  • Lenskart Intensifies its Focus on its $10 billion IPO valuation

    According to those briefed on the subject, Lenskart is contemplating a possible $10 billion valuation for its impending initial public offering (IPO), which is quadruple that of its most recent investment round. According to the omnichannel eyeglasses store, the brand is planning to file draft papers in May. In recent weeks, Peyush Bansal, the CEO, and important investors spoke with the bankers overseeing the $1 billion IPO about valuation. However, the plans depend on the state of the market as the IPO approaches.

    According to a media report, efforts are being made to submit the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) by May in order for it to be listed this year. Internally, some people feel even more aggressive about the valuation, but one must leave money on the table for potential IPO investors, and that may not be in line with the state of the market. Over the past year, investors had been considering accessing the public markets due to Lenskart’s size and profitability, but Bansal had not finalised those plans. Rather, over the past two years, investors have been able to part-sell holdings for liquidity through high-profile secondary sales.

    In contrast to a previous round of primary capital infusion of $4.5 billion, Lenskart closed a $200 million secondary round in June of last year at a $5 billion valuation. Secondaries usually occur at a discount, but both new and existing investors have been clamouring for Lenskart shares.

    Recent Developments at Lenskart

    Prior to the IPO, Lenskart has been striving for complete profitability through a significant decrease in losses and consistent sales growth. Due to technology-driven operational savings, net loss decreased from INR 64 crore in FY23 to INR 10 crore in FY24. As per quoted by a media report, “They (Lenskart) rely and leverage a lot from technology, which leads to operational efficiency in an omnichannel model.”

    In FY24, operating revenue increased 43% year over year to INR 5,428 crore. From INR 403 crore in FY23 to INR 856 crore in FY24, EBITDA more than doubled. Bansal stated in an interview last year that the success of its activities was demonstrated by the net promoter score, a crucial measure of consumer happiness, which increased from 65 in previous years to over 80. “Whether it’s enhancing the customer experience, streamlining the supply chain, or cutting down on delivery times, technology is at the core of everything we do,” he had stated.

    Lenskart is increasing its retail network and concentrating more on domestic manufacture. Its factory in Rajasthan now handles the majority of the manufacturing. The business is investing $200 million in a new Telangana facility. This will lower expenses and boost its export operations to India. The company intends to add 400 stores to its 2,500-strong brick-and-mortar network, despite the fact that internet sales have surpassed offline growth in the last two years.

    Joining the IPO Race

    This year, a number of fintech, business-to-business (B2B), and e-commerce startups have planned filings. Ather Energy, Zetwerk, Groww, Bluestone, PharmEasy, Oyo, and Zepto are a few companies at varying phases of IPO preparation. Despite bankers’ optimism, companies will price their products according to the state of the market when they go public, especially if they haven’t turned a profit yet, as was the case last year.

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  • As it Prepares for its IPO, Lenskart Hopes to Attract as Much as $1 Billion from Investors

    According to industry sources, the eyewear company Lenskart has reached out to bankers to make a pitch for its impending IPO, which aims to raise roughly $1 billion. The company intends to go public by the beginning of next year and hopes to be valued at around $7 billion.

    The pitch is scheduled for next month.  Last year, a fund run by the prominent US financial services company Fidelity raised Lenskart’s worth to $5.6 billion. Based on the company’s valuation as of September 30, this indicated a 12% increase in the firm’s fair worth in Fidelity’s books.

    Ongoing Financial Developments at Lenskart

    Lenskart‘s operating revenue increased by 43% to about INR 5,427.7 crore in FY24 from around INR 3,788 crore in FY23. The company makes money by selling goggles, lenses, and frames for eyewear as well as by providing extra services like eye checkups. According to a media report, Lenskart’s losses were reduced by 84% to around INR 10 crore in FY24 from about INR 63 crore in FY23 as a result of cost-effective management.

    Temasek, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm, and Fidelity contributed $200 million to Lenskart’s secondary investment in June of last year. Secondary sales provide a means of paying back early investors when new companies’ value increases. In this financing, the company managed by Peyush Bansal was valued at roughly $5 billion. When the company raised $100 million in June 2023, its most recent valuation was $4.5 billion. With about $1 billion in money raised over the last two years, Lenskart is among the biggest growth-stage financings in the world.

    Lenskart Continues to Expand its Footprints

    While expanding its global presence in Asia at a rapid pace, Lenskart is still expanding its market share in India. Its distinctive click-and-mortar business strategy is upending the eyewear market by providing a multichannel consumer experience through mobile apps, online platforms, and physical stores. 2,000 of the company’s more than 2,500 outlets are located in India. 

    Delhi-based Lenskart faces competition from companies like Warby Parker, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Titan Eyeplus, and the Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group, both domestically and internationally.

    In order to expand its business and obtain access to new technology, the corporation has also been making acquisitions. These include businesses like Tango Eye, a firm focused on computer vision and artificial intelligence. In 2022, Owndays, a Japanese brand, joined the Lenskart group in an estimated $400 million purchase. According to recent reports, if negotiations for a secondary share sale of $200–300 million proceed, Lenskart’s worth might increase by 20% to $6 billion.

    Exploring Southern India for its Mega Projects

    According to a LinkedIn post made by Bansal in April 2024, the company was looking for 25 acres of property to build a “megafactory.” The planned location was within sixty kilometres of Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru.

     With an estimated investment of around INR 1,500 crore, Lenskart intends to establish its largest eyewear manufacturing factory in Telangana. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been inked by the Telangana government and the Gurugram-based eyeglasses company to develop the facility at Fab City.

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