Fashion Turns The Lens: Lenskart's Peyush Bansal On How Eyewear Became India's Next Big Style Statement

There's a lot more awareness coming for eyewear right now, and a lot more to be done in the category, believes Lenskart CEO and co-founder Peyush Bansal. Once dismissed as a dull necessity, eyewear is now stepping into the limelight as a fashion accessory.

"Before, people used to call you chashmish. Now, you can see celebrities wearing glasses, kids wearing glasses," Bansal told NDTV Profit, adding that the category is becoming "very exciting."

For Bansal, the focus now is on perfecting customer experience as the company scales up. "We have to keep getting better at our customer experience. With scale coming into the picture, operating leverage will kick in," he said.

And the timing couldn't be sharper, with the Radhakishan Damani-backed Lenskart IPO just around the corner. The Softbank and Temasek-backed eyewear unicorn plans to raise Rs 2,150 crore through its public issue, which opens on Oct. 31.

Bansal, during the conversation, revealed an interesting "secret" to the brand's expansion strategy: "Always open a store near a D-Mart." He credits Damani, the retail tycoon behind Avenue Supermarts, for his sharp business acumen and inspiration. "We have huge respect for Mr Damani, and we have grown up watching D-Mart stores. You will always find a Lenskart store near a D-Mart. That's our little secret," he said.

Damani has invested Rs 90 crore in Lenskart ahead of the IPO — a move that Bansal calls both an endorsement and an opportunity to learn. "It is an honour that Damani decided to be a part of our journey. There's so much to learn from him," he said.

Lenskart's red herring prospectus shows that the company will deploy a significant portion of the IPO proceeds for lease and rent payments for its company-owned, company-operated (CoCo) stores in India. The company also plans to open more stores domestically and abroad.

"We are expanding stores. We are very early in our journey. Looking at the size of the market, we are still in the early stages," Bansal said.

Lenskart had reported a restated profit of Rs 297 crore for the financial year ended March, marking a significant turnaround while underscoring India's vision-meets-fashion movement.