The popular online eyewear retailer, Lenskart, has reported to have sealed nearly $20 million in funding, which was led by realty developers CJT Investments and TR Capital. In fact, the leading investment was by the company’s own co-founders, Peyush Bansal and Neha Bansal. What is interesting is the fact that this is the second investment from the two co-founders within a span of under a year.
Source: Indian Express
The Investments
The board at Lenskart has gone on to agree to okay special resolution for issuance of 695,875 Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 2,300 apiece. The latest move has seen the company raise Rs 160 crore (roughly $19.12 million). Documents sourced from the Registrar of Companies (ROC) reveal that Peyush Bansal spearheaded the round, investing Rs 70.70 crore, while Neha Bansal put in Rs 70.39 crore The other co-founders, Amit Choudhary and Sumeet Kapahi, had also pumped in investments to the tune of Rs 9.60 crore and Rs 9.35 crore, respectively.
The cofounders of Lenskart had infused capital worth Rs 29.89 crore and 29.77 crore respectively in December 2023, apart from investments made by Choudhary and Kapahi. The constant reiteration of the cofounders stands as a testimony to the faith that they carry, not just in the proven business model of Lenskart but in what it can go on to make in the coming future.
The new funding comes on the back of a $200 million secondary deal within Lenskart. In this transaction, Temasek and Fidelity Management & Research Company (FMR) acquired shares from the promoter Orion India Systems at a valuation of more than $5 Bn. The secondary infusion of funds through this recent funding to the company only underscores the same strength and faith that the investing community, an important believer in a company like Lenskart, is showing toward this company.
Expansion and Revenue
Quadruplicate its presence: within the country and outside with Lenskart boasting a network of 2500 stores with more than 2000 stores in India alone. Almost 60% of Lenskart revenues come from India, while the rest are from the operations in the countries of Singapore, Dubai, the US, and Southeast Asia.
Though hard funding is to be implicated, the same has helped Lenskart to raise more than $1 billion in 18 months. This credit must go to the good financial performance along with very strong unit economics, highly promising growth potential in the international markets.
During their fiscal interchange ending in March 2023, Lenskart’s revenue from operations for the optical e-tailer surged to almost ₹3,788 crore from ₹1,502 crore in FY22. The company was able to expand in a cost-efficient manner, because of which losses were partly brought down by 37.3% to ₹64 crore in FY23 from ₹102 crore in FY22. However, the company is yet to file its FY24 annual financial report.
The most recent series of $20 million funding, under the leadership of its key co-founders Peyush and Neha Bansal, represents a strong testament that Lenskart’s co-founders truly believe in their eyewear business. With heavy investment and robust underpinnings on the financial front, Lenskart appears well staged for increasing its market presence with further increase in growth in years to come.
