Lenskart Solutions Ltd. founder and chief executive officer Peyush Bansal shrugged of the ongoing debate around the eyewear company's valuation, asserting that his primary focus remains on delivering value to customers rather than justifying market multiples.
In response to NDTV Profit's question about Lenskart's valuation being significantly higher than that of its global peers on metrics such as price-to-earnings and price-to-Ebitda, Bansal said he does not view determining valuation as part of an entrepreneur's role. Instead, he emphasised that his responsibility lies in ensuring that customers receive the best-quality spectacles at the lowest possible price.
“I'm only justifying the value for the customer, right? How to make the best quality spectacles every day at the lowest price possibly is the job,” Bansal said.
"Mereko toh justify karna hi nahi hota hai..."
Here's what Peyush Bansal had to say when asked about #Lenskart's high valuation. @Vishwanath4389
Listen in 🔻 pic.twitter.com/IxPm66KxAcHe further added that valuation is something that he understands less and it is largely determined by strong advisers, and as entrepreneur, "it is not our job to decide valuation".
He also said Lenskart continues to prioritise affordability and accessibility across its offerings. “We should make sure there is value for money,” he noted.
Lenskart Solutions. is set to launch its initial public offering (IPO) on Oct. 31. The company appears to be seeking a valuation that is significantly higher than its global peers and trades at premium multiples compared to its nearest domestic competitor, Nykaa, based on its impressive top-line growth and positioning as a high-growth company, according to data compiled by NDTV Profit Research and Bloomberg.
Jayasankar Venkataraman, managing director at Kotak Mahindra Capital, which is advising on Lenskart's forthcoming listing, echoed Bansal's sentiment while offering additional context on how institutional investors are viewing the company's valuation.
He noted that the market should wait for the list of anchor investors expected to be announced later this week. “You'll find all the marquee DIIs FIIs really participating in the book,” Venkataraman said.
“When it comes to consumer tech companies, investors look at the track record of growth. It's (Lenskart) has been growing pretty fast historically both in India and internationally they've also demonstrated operating leverage.”
According to him, valuations in the consumer technology and retail space are being benchmarked against a broad set of listed peers in India. He also pointed that institutional investors are far more equipped to assess such businesses and they have taken into account fast-growing consumer companies that already trade at robust valuations. This valuation has been arrived at after comprehensive discussions with institutional investors he said.
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