“Work is underway to file the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) by May so it can… get listed this calendar year,” said one of the persons cited. “Internally, some feel even more aggressive about the valuation, but that may not be in sync with current market conditions and one has to leave money on the table for incoming IPO investors.”
Bansal did not respond to ET’s queries.
“The firm, along with stakeholders, is now ready to go public,” said another person, adding that there may not be time left to close a pre-listing round. “That’s the big change in stance now on the IPO.”
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Given Lenskart’s scale and profitability, investors had been discussing tapping the public markets over the last year, but Bansal had not finalised those plans. Instead, big-ticket secondary deals over the last two years enabled investors to part-sell stakes for liquidity.
Lenskart closed a $200-million secondary round in June last year at a $5-billion valuation, against a preceding round of primary capital infused at $4.5 billion. Typically, secondaries happen at a discount but Lenskart shares have been in demand among new and existing investors.
An investor in the company also said, “There’s always more demand to buy than sell.”
Several late-stage startups are priming themselves for share sales in FY26, underscoring their adoption by public market investors, both retail and institutional.
Backed by SoftBank and Temasek, Lenskart is the eyewear market leader by far, and its India operations are profitable and expanding. There would also be major growth in Thailand, as well as for Owndays, part of the premium push, one of the persons mentioned earlier said. The eyewear company acquired the Japanese brand in 2022 in a $400-million deal.
The 15-year-old firm—which won top honours at the ET Startup Awards last year—has hit an annual revenue run rate of $1 billion (Rs 8,400 crore). The company produces 25 million frames and 30-40 million lenses annually.
It also owns a “significant stake” in Paris-based omnichannel eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier.
Since inception, Lenskart has closed nearly $2 billion in funding, including secondary sales —where money doesn’t go to the company with shares changing hands between new and existing investors.
Prescription for future
Lenskart has been working toward full profitability ahead of the IPO, with a sharp reduction in losses and steady revenue growth.
In FY24, net loss shrunk to Rs 10 crore, from Rs 64 crore in FY23, on technology-driven operational efficiencies. “They (Lenskart) rely and leverage a lot from technology, which leads to operational efficiency in an omnichannel model,” said a person who works with Bansal.
Operating revenue rose 43% year-on-year to Rs 5,428 crore in FY24. Ebitda more than doubled to Rs 856 crore in FY24, from Rs 403 crore in FY23.
In an interview last year, Bansal said net promoter score, a key indicator of customer satisfaction, rose from 65 in recent years to over 80, signaling the effectiveness of its initiatives. “Tech is at the heart of everything we do, whether it’s improving the customer experience, optimising supply chain, or reducing delivery times,” he had said.
Lenskart is sharpening its focus on local manufacturing and expanding retail network.
Most of the manufacturing has been shifted to its Rajasthan factory. The company is spending $200 million on a new facility in Telangana. This will strengthen its India export business, reducing costs.
While online sales have outpaced offline growth in the last two years, the company plans to add 400 stores to its 2,500-strong brick-and-mortar network.
Joining the club
Several ecommerce, business-to-business (B2B) and fintech startups, among others, have lined up filings this year. Zepto, Groww, Bluestone, PharmEasy, Oyo, Ather Energy and Zetwerk are among those at different stages of IPO preparation, as reported by ET.
Companies, despite bullishness from bankers, will price their offerings in line with market conditions at time of listing, especially those that are yet to become profitable, as was seen last year.