Bringing Clarity: Lenskart Prepares to Step Beyond the Blur of Private Markets

Mumbai | June 9 – Over the past decade, Lenskart has taught Indians that buying eyeglasses doesn’t have to mean choosing between utility and style. Now, the company is trying to show that startup-led scale can transition to public market discipline.

Last week, Lenskart quietly took its first legal step toward an IPO—dropping the “Private” from its name. The resolution, passed at an extraordinary general meeting on May 30, converts Lenskart Solutions Private Limited into Lenskart Solutions Limited. A procedural change, but one that signals strategic intent: the company wants to list.

In a filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), the Peyush Bansal-led eyewear firm made its position explicit—public status is necessary “to undertake the offer.”

The offer, of course, is its long-anticipated public issue.

The shift from consumer favourite to market-facing entity

Founded in 2010, Lenskart grew up during India’s D2C boom, positioning itself as a digital-first eyewear retailer that was as much about style and convenience as it was about optometry. Over time, it became one of the rare consumer-tech stories that evolved beyond the website—building offline stores, controlling manufacturing, and expanding into global markets like Singapore, UAE, and Japan.

But as it prepares to go public, the narrative must change. Storytelling, once the domain of ad campaigns and influencer pushes, will now move to DRHPs, roadshows, and investor decks.

Lenskart’s expansion playbook—more categories, more stores, more countries—may need to be re-evaluated through the lens of capital efficiency. The company that once raised money to spend on growth will now be expected to earn money to deliver it.

Behind the listing: a window of opportunity

Reports suggest Lenskart is already in talks with bankers inclu​ra Capital, Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citi, and Avendus. While there’s no draft prospectus in the public domain yet, the gears are turning.

Timing matters. The market for IPOs in 2025 has been tepid so far—just 16 companies have listed compared to 29 in the same period last year. But sentiment is beginning to shift.

With the RBI’s recent 50 bps repo rate cut injecting fresh liquidity and benchmark indices near record highs, capital markets are warming up. SEBI has cleared a dozen more IPOs for launch in the coming months—from HDB Financial Services to Rubicon Research, CIEL HR Services, and Veritas Finance.

Lenskart isn’t just preparing to ride this wave. It could define it.

Valuation, under a new lens

Sources peg Lenskart’s IPO valuation at north of $1 billion. But valuation, in public markets, is earned differently. It’s not built on future TAMs or pitch decks. It’s built on profitability—or at least, a credible path to it.

And that’s where the scrutiny will deepen. For all of Lenskart’s strengths—brand recognition, vertical integration, customer loyalty—investors will be looking for margin visibility, cashflow discipline, and operating leverage.

The company’s private capital backers have so far included the likes of Temasek, SoftBank, and Kedaara Capital. Going public means swapping venture capital’s long-view optimism for quarterly benchmarks and margin math.

More than capital, a signal

For Lenskart, the IPO is not just about capital. It’s a coming-of-age moment. A transition from startup culture to institutional accountability.

And if done well, it could serve as a counterpoint to the wariness that has defined investor sentiment toward consumer-tech listings. Early high-profile IPOs—Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa—have created mixed memories. Volatility, valuation corrections, and governance noise have left investors cautious.

Lenskart has the opportunity to write a different script. It doesn’t operate in food delivery or fintech. Its product has repeat use, physical presence, and proven gross margins. In theory, it should be easier to underwrite.

A market test, not just a listing

Going public is often romanticised as a reward for building a great business. In truth, it’s a test of whether the business can operate under daylight.

For Lenskart, that test has begun—not on listing day, but now. With every banker pitch, every RoC filing, and every pricing call, it will need to convince a new audience: the public markets.

What they will want to see is not a blurry projection of growth, but a sharply focused story of sustainable scale.

In eyewear, clarity is everything. The same will apply to its IPO.