Lenskart gets regulatory nod for India’s first exclusive eyewear IPO – News Air Insight

Lenskart, which is poised to become India’s first eyewear-only company to go public, has received approval for a stock market listing, the markets regulator said on Monday.

Lenskart is India’s largest organized eyewear company, operating in a market projected to grow at a double-digit pace over the next five years.

Analysts at Jefferies expect demand to surge, driven by rising vision issues, deeper market penetration, and expanding health insurance via employers and government schemes.

In July, Lenskart filed for the IPO, which includes the issue of fresh shares worth 21.5 billion rupees (around $250 million), according to its draft prospectus.

Proceeds from the offering will be used to establish new company-owned, company-operated stores, invest in technology and cloud infrastructure, and fund general corporate purposes.

Lenskart started operations in 2010 as an online business and opened its first retail store three years later. The retailer was valued at $6.1 billion as of September 10, according to data from Tracxn.The company operates 2,067 stores in the country and 656 overseas.