Lenskart to go public in next 3 years, says CEO

India's top eyewear company Lenskart plans to go public within the next three years, CEO and co- founder Peyush Bansal said on Friday.

Speaking with Business Today TV global editor Udayan Mukherjee, Bansal says that there is huge demand for high-quality, affordable eyewear, adding that Lenskart is on a clear path to profitability.

The company, which sells eyewear online and via retail outlets, grew more than 200 per cent in the past two years. Softbank owns about 20 per cent, while TPG and IFC were also early investors. The company's expansion plan revolves around four focus markets--India, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the US. 

Softbank-backed Lenskart grew 60 per cent in FY22 and Peyush Bansal expects that company is on track to achieve over 50 per cent growth in FY23.

"We do not need enormous amount of capital to grow the business, we are on clear path to profitability," he said

"I think we would do an IPO in the next 24 to 36 months" he said, adding that there is no rush for an IPO right now to get the investors an exit, there is no liquidity issue.

India's favourite 'Shark Tank' judge also believes that they have a long way to go, company wants to be essentially the Maruti equivalent of eyewear in India.

"There's a huge demand for high-quality, affordable eyewear," Bansal said about the Indian market. He claimed that 40% of their potential customers still find Lenskart expensive.

"We want to give glasses to 50 per cent of people in India and for that we need to invest in infrastructure and supply chain but as a company we don't burn operating capital as much," told Business Today

Speaking on fund raising plans, Bansal says that Lenskart will use the money to build technology, strengthen its supply chain and expand distribution.

The IIM-Bengaluru alumnus believes that there is a lot of opportunity in tier II & III markets.

"In the past two years, the growth from tier II cities have grown, it has definitely taken a huge spike versus earlier. But I would say we still 60 per cent metro driven business," he said.

A need to build something of his own and a passion to be at the top, Bansal left his fancy job with Microsoft in the US and came back to India

"During my time at Microsoft and I was quite inspired by the impact that Microsoft products  had on the lives of people particularly office where I used to work, I wanted to do something very similar with my life, that's when I decided to quit and came to India with no business plan but I kept exploring opportunities," he said. 

Also read: Lenskart subsidiary Neso Brands raises $100 million in largest seed funding round

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