Eyewear major Lenskart wants to build heavy infrastructure–on the lines of Reliance Jio laying optic-fibre across the country–for eye-testing and distribution, founder & CEO Peyush Bansal said on Monday.
Lenskart will “redefine remote optometry”, he said. On creating value for customers, the Lenskart CEO noted that “profit is just a byproduct of that process”. The firm is not “raising more capital than necessary”, given its strong balance sheet and positive cash flows, Bansal added.
“This (the company’s upcoming IPO) is not an exit event,” he said, adding that “the listing is more about broadening ownership and bringing long-term partners on board”.
Every Indian consumer tech brand must “aspire to be international”, said Bansal, highlighting Lenskart’s journey from selling contact lenses online to operating over 2,500 stores worldwide and its future global expansion. He also expressed gratitude to the company shareholders.
SoftBank Vision Fund owns about 15% in Lenskart, Platinum Jasmine (12.45%) and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) about 12.62%. Other investors include Kedaara Capital (11.38%), Alpha Wave Ventures (6.14%), Premji Invest (5%) and Singapore’s Temasek Holdings (4.86%). Apart from Fidelity, billionaire and ace investor Radhakishan Damani has also invested Rs 90 crore in a pre-IPO round.
Lenskart’s IPO is set to open on October 31 and close on November 4, with the listing scheduled for November 10 on both the NSE and the BSE. At the price band of Rs 382-Rs 402 per share, the overall valuation is around Rs 70,000 crore.
The funds raised through the IPO will be used to expand physical stores, enhancing technology, marketing and potential acquisitions.
The valuation of an IPO is “not the finish line”, Bansal said, adding that the IPO is not an exit for founders but a fresh start with new investors and heightened trust in the business. “Valuations do not decide whether an IPO is good or not, at least not in the long term,” he added.