The brokerage remains constructive on the Indian eyewear industry, currently valued at around USD 9 billion, citing strong structural tailwinds. These include a sharp 700 bps GST reduction, rising incidence of refractive errors, and increasing acceptance of eyewear as a fashion accessory. Together, these factors are expected to drive an industry CAGR of ~13%, according to Redseer.
Lenskart, India’s largest eyewear retailer with a 5% market share, is positioning itself as a global player with technology embedded across its operations. The company leverages automation and vertical integration at the back end, while deploying remote optometry and virtual try-ons at the front end. Advanced tools such as geo-analytics and Vision AI aid store location selection and merchandising decisions.
As scale builds, these advantages are translating into a stronger value proposition, reflected in 15–16% same-store growth, next-day deliveries across 58 cities, and rapid network expansion, with 450 store additions expected in FY26E. Lenskart has also gained meaningful traction in international markets such as Singapore and Dubai.
The company’s store-level payback period of around one year, supported by high throughput and low capital requirements, compares favorably with peers in the discretionary retail space.
While valuations may appear optically high following Lenskart’s recent profitability turnaround, Emkay sees significant long-term headroom. The brokerage expects nearly 6x revenue growth in India over the next decade, implying a ~20% CAGR. A strategic shift toward company-owned, company-operated (COCO) stores, combined with operating leverage on growth investments, is likely to drive average annual margin expansion of ~150 bps. This could result in an EBITDA CAGR of ~30% over the same period.
In the medium term (FY25–28E), Lenskart is expected to outperform peers, with projected revenue and EBITDA CAGRs of ~25% and ~50%, respectively, compared with 12–26% for other leading retail players. Emkay believes the business offers multiple scalable growth optionalities that further enhance its medium-term prospects.Lenskart’s vertically integrated supply chain enables it to maintain healthy gross margins of around 64% in India, while simultaneously keeping store-level capital expenditure low at approximately Rs 5 million per outlet. This efficient cost structure, combined with a broad product range, sharp pricing, and rapid delivery capabilities, drives superior revenue throughput and underpins the company’s strong unit economics.
In the eyewear retail space, Lenskart commands a clear leadership position, operating at more than three times the scale of its nearest competitor, Titan Eyewear. Most other players in the market remain focused on third-party premium brands, a segment that represents only about 5% of total industry volumes, limiting their ability to scale meaningfully.
Insights from global peer benchmarking point to several scalable growth optionalities for Lenskart. These include the development of a managed care ecosystem through initiatives like Vision Sure, expansion into adjacent categories such as audiology, the potential monetisation of comprehensive eye tests, and the rollout of AI-enabled smart eyewear solutions in India, all of which could provide additional growth levers over the medium to long term.
The company has already begun pilot initiatives across some of these areas. Emkay believes successful execution could lead to meaningful earnings accretion over the medium term. A strong balance sheet, with approximately Rs 40 billion in net cash, provides ample support for continued growth investments.
On Tuesday’s trading session, Lenskart Solutions shares were trading flat with a positive bias, up 0.60% at Rs 455.60. The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 459.80 and a low of Rs 450.25, and currently commands a market capitalisation of about Rs 78,476 crore.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times.)