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Lenskart Case Study: Business, Marketing Strategy & Success Story

• Published Date : Tuesday July 12, 2022
• Last Updated November 23, 2023

Suraj Shrivastava

Chief Link Building Strategist

Today, every 3rd person of the total Indian population needs spectacles. The growth of technology has led to the increased use of laptops. A sedentary working style and constant gazing at the laptop screens have led to many eye problems. Some of them are:

• Hyperopia (farsightedness,i.e. difficulty in seeing close objects)
• Myopia (nearsightedness, i.e. difficulty in seeing far objects)
• Astigmatism (blurred distant or near objects)
• Presbyopia (gradual decrease in visibility of near objects in 40+age group)
• Frequent headaches, and others.

All these are medical conditions related to poor visibility. So good glasses have become an essential commodity.

The eyewear industry of India:

The struggle begins for a person to get involved in physical shopping for glasses. It requires a lot of patience and time to visit an optician. You need to get your eyes tested and select an apt frame for the glasses. Also, wait a long time to receive the selected eyewear. To sum up, eyewear has become a need for some and a fashion element for some. So the sale of eyewear has increased over the past few years. Every day approximately 15 lacs spectacles are being sold in the Indian market . The eyewear industry saw a revolutionary new turn in 2010, with the emergence of Lenskart. 

Establishment:

Lenskart is a Faridabad based optical prescription eyewear retail chain. Founded by Peyush Bansal in 2010. It revolutionized the unorganized eyewear industry of India. The founders focus on three main pre-existing problems of the Indian eyewear industry:

• Eyewear was being considered medical equipment and the wearer did not feel good about wearing it
• Branded eyewear had higher prices starting from Rs. 1500.
• People had very low accessibility to opticals in India.

The company has launched the widest range of eyewear products.  Like contact lenses, prescription glasses, sunglasses, anti-glare glasses, try-at-home glasses,  and many more. It has marked its presence offline by having 550+ kiosks across various states of India.

Lenskart’s mission is to become the “Maruti Suzuki” of the Indian eyewear industry. The company has emerged as one of the best e-commerce companies. It has online as well as offline distribution mediums. Lenskart earned the “Unicorn Company Status” at the end of 2019. 

Lenskart is the first and the only Indian brand that uses robotic technology to deliver specs that are accurate to 3 decimal places. The brand also delivers services like 3D Try On and Home Eye Check-Up. The manufacturing plant of Lenskart lies in Rajasthan.

About Lenskart:

Peyush Bansal: Born on 26th April 1985, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in the branch of Electrical Engineering, IT, Control & Automation from McGill University, Canada. On completion of his graduation in 2006, he pursued his PGD in entrepreneurship from IIM (Indian Institute of Management), Bengaluru. Soon after completion of his PG, he joined Microsoft as a programming manager in the USA. He served there for around 11 months then returned to India to pursue his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. He launched around 5 companies before the launch of Lenskart.

During his IIM days, he launched his own company Valyoo Technologies in 2007. He launched a campaign under the name “SearchMyCampus” with Rs. 25,00,000 investment, which was a great hit. It was a classified online portal for students to solve their problems. Like finding part-time jobs, carpool facilities, internship offers coaching books, etc.

During his exploration, he found the eyewear segment running very poor. He then launched an online store “Flyrr.com” in June 2009. It sold contact lenses, sunglasses, etc. This store was focused on the US market then he decided to replicate the same model in India and launched Lenskart in 2010.    

In May 2011, Peyush Bansal launched “Watchkart.com” to sell premium watches from top-notch brands, like Tommy Hilfiger, Fossil, Emporio Armani, Casio, Fastrack, and others. The website displayed classy and exuberant watches and gained a lot of traction.

Bagkart.com was launched in August 2011 under Valyoo Technologies. The website sold a wide range of handbags.

Peyush Bansal launched another vertical in the name “JwelsKart.com”, with his three existing verticals Lenskart, WatchKart, and BagsKart, It sold jewelry of all kinds.

The company found that among all the verticals, Lenskart was performing much better. Due to low traction and a fall in revenue, Peyush Bansal had to shut down Watchkart, Bagskart, and Jewelskart in 2015. He could thus follow only on Lenskart.

Neha Bansal: She is another co-founder of Lenskart. She had served as a partner at Vinod Kumar and Associates before being in Lenskart.

Amit Chaudhary: Co-founder of Lenskart, Amit Chaudhary is a Computer Science Engineer from BITs Mesra, Ranchi. He has a passion for traveling to different places. Belonging to Kolkata, he did his schooling at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan school. His deep understanding of technology and innovative ideas has led to revolutionary changes in the business.

Sumeet Kapahi: A student of Delhi University, Sumeet Kapahi was a business development manager of Luxottica India Eyewear (Rayban), before joining as one of the co-founders of Lenskart.

Revenue and funding:

Peyush Bansal founded Lenskart in 2010 along with his two friends Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi. The financial backers of the company are TPG Growth, International Finance Corporation, Adveq Management, Ratan Tata , Kris Gopalakrishnan, Kedaara Capital, Chiratae Ventures, Rajeev Chitrabhanu, Eqip Capital, and IFC Venture Capital Group are investors in the company.

• 2017: Lenskart launched the international eyewear brand, John Jacobs.
• Katrina Kaif got launched as the first brand ambassador of the brand.  
• 2018: Wipro Chairman Azim Premji invested INR 4 crore in the company. It increased the total valuation of the company to Rs. 3000 crores.
• 2019: Lenskart launched Bhuvan Bam as its first male brand ambassador.
• 2020: Lenskart generated total revenue of Rs.1,000+ crore

Business & marketing strategy of Lenskart:

• Inventory-based business model – Lenskart offers 5,000+ designs of frames and 45+ different quality lenses for its customers. The company passes on the designs to its manufacturers. While developing the products, the company focuses on superior quality, durability, wide range, innovativeness, and services like a 3-D testing facility. It uses German imported robotic technology, which has made Lenskart the only Indian brand to make eyewear with an accuracy of up to 3-decimals.     

• Advertising on Google – Google ads are the most powerful strategies for businesses in today’s digital era. Lenskart uses this method and invests in paid advertising on Google. It uses popular keywords like eyeglasses, sunglasses, frames, and computer glasses. It also promotes its products through overpaid Google Shopping ads, where the viewer can themselves take an action. Lenskart uses Google ads through display ads, video ads, app download ads, and others. 

• Social Media Campaign – They run Facebook and Instagram ads to advertise their products. Lenskart also uses conventional advertisements, like newspaper ads, television ads, email marketing , and others. All these tin steps have made the brand emerge as a well-recognized eyewear brand in India.
• Omni-channel retail business model – The company observed the Indian mindsets and found that people are apprehensive about buying eyewear products online. Thus it focussed on establishing brick and mortar stores in India. The company offers services in both online and offline modes. It now has 550+ stores across 30+ cities.

• SEO – Lenskart website is well optimized to be user-friendly. The website has a strong SEO and gets 1.8 million visitors per month.
• Focus on quality and price- Lenskart saw the existing problems in the Indian market. It focussed on launching innovative and cost-effective products without compromising on their quality. “Lenskart Blu” is one of their innovative products that protect the eyes from harmful UV rays. It also offers a wide range of unbreakable, ultra-light, and super-flexible frames in the name of “Airflex”.

• Celebrity endorsements- The products of Lenskart are not an eyesight cure. But also create a style statement for the user. Thus the brand endorses popular personalities to attract the young mass. The first brand ambassador of Lenskart was Katrina Kaif followed by Bhuvan Bam. The brand is associated with popular premium brands, like Ray-Ban, Vogue, John Jacobs, and others. This facilitates the customers to get access to a wide range of premium products under one roof.

• Franchising for offline stores- In 2014, Lenskart ventured into offline stores to promote its products. It adopted the franchise model to serve people all over India. It now has 720+ stores across India and has plans to expand further. The franchise business model enhanced the online presence of Lenskart with minimal investment. During the covid-19 pandemic, most businesses had to shut down their stores. And turn into online mode. But Lenskart took a brave step by opening up 300+ stores making a total of 1000 stores. Lenskart focuses on reaching out to more customers through its offline stores. 

• Virtual reality technique- Lenskart offers a real-time experience to its customers through its app. The brand launched for the first time a 3-D try-on feature by collaborating with a start-up in California named Ditto. The feature offered the customer to try any frame in virtual reality. Peyush Bansal found this feature to be a very effective marketing strategy . As it brought around 15,000 customers every day to the Lenskart platform.

• B2C model- B2C refers to Business-to-Customer. It is an e-commerce strategy that eliminates the middlemen to sell the products. Lenskart uses this technique to sell its products through its websites and its mobile app. The B2C model has helped the brand make its products affordable for all. It collects customer feedback to understand their marketing behavior. Lenskart has collaborated with many logistics companies, like BlueDart, Delhivery, etc. for quick delivery services. It ensures timely and safe delivery of its products to the customers.

• Modern eye-testing- Lenskart offers advanced technology eye testing to its customers In stores as well as at their homes. The equipment used for eye testing gets imported from the USA, which is more efficient than the conventional tools and equipment used in India. The customer has to book an appointment for eye testing and an apt optometrist will visit their house to carry out the testing process.

• Attractive discounts- Lenskart has studied the Indian mindsets and has understood that our local customers get fascinated with discount offers. The brand thus offers exciting discount offers and schemes. They offer discounts like free eye check-ups, offering the first frame free of cost to the new customer, and others. The home testing facility is an exciting offer in itself. The eyewear specialist carries with him the 100 most popular frames for the customers to try on at their homes. These offers and discounts have proved to be one of the best marketing strategies and have gained a lot of customers to the platform.

Brand ambassadors:

Katrina kaif- Lenskart appointed the famous Bollywood star Katrina Kaif in October 2017 as its first brand ambassador. Peyush Bansal said that the reason behind choosing Katrina Kaif as the brand ambassador was her playful attitude. As the brand is all about fun, fashion, and playfulness.

Bhuvan Bam- Lenskart appointed Youtube sensation Bhuvan Bam as its next brand ambassador in March 2019. Founders explained that the digital content of Bhuvan Bam is appealing to the youth and so he can help the brand gather more audiences. 

Competition analysis of Lenskart:

In the herd of eye care industries, Lenskart has stood out among other online and offline competitors popular brands like GKB, Lawrence, and Mayo, Titan Eye Plus, Bausch + Lomb, Specsmakers, and Coolwinks are among the offline competitors of Lenskart, and Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal are among the online competitors. Ray-Ban and Essilor are such brands that have a strong presence on online as well as offline platforms. Lenskart incorporates unique marketing strategies. Differential price points and innovative technologies make a strong presence in the eyewear industry. The products of Lenskart are affordable and long-lasting, targeting customers of different segments. The range of products starts from Rs. 345 up to Rs. 30,000.

Range of products and services offered by Lenskart:

• “First frame is free” offer- Lenskart offers its customers to pay only for the lens on their first buy. And get the second frame for free.
• Eye checkup at home- The band introduced a home eye testing facility for the customers. Where an optometrist would visit the house of the customers to conduct the testing.
• “Try at home”- Lenskart allows a customer to choose up to 5 frames and try them at home before finally making a buy.     

• Lenskart Blur (launched in 2019)- Eyewear solution to block harmful blue light rays. What emerges out of mobile and computer screens. It intends to avoid severe damage to the eyes due to such rays.  
• Innovative techniques- First time in India, Lenskart introduced a 3D facial visualizer. Through this, a customer can see how the frame looks on him, before finally purchasing it.
• Wide range of products- Lenskart offers a huge range of products. Like sunglasses, premium eyeglasses, and glasses of different shapes (Wayfarer, oval, rounders, cat eye, etc.), Branded lenses (Ray-Ban, Johnson & Johnson), contact lenses, and others.
• Allows customers to replace their old glasses with new pairs of glasses.
• Live customer support help. 

Winding up:

Lenskart has emerged as one of the top startups in India due to its unique marketing strategies and got listed among the “ Top 10 promising e-commerce Indian startups in 2021 ” by the Indian Wire. The brand has reached a million hearts by providing the best eyewear solutions to people. It blends conventional methods with modern ones with a touch of the latest technologies. The goals of the company revolutionized the eyewear industry in India. The company has generated huge employment opportunities in the country through manufacturing and retailing processes.

Suraj Shrivastava at ForgeFusion shares simple, effective ways to grow your business using SEO, content marketing, and AI, learned from helping over 50 companies. When he's not working, he loves teaching others or watching documentaries.

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Lenskart Case Study: History, Valuation, Product, Services & Growth

Lenskart is an Indian eyewear online portal founded by Peyush Bansal in November 2010 in Delhi. Co-founders Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi joined Peyush at a later date. The company’s portfolio of products ranges from prescription glasses, contact lenses to sunglasses.

HISTORY Peyush, is the founder & CEO of the company Valyoo Technologies, which is the parent company of LensKart. He pursued his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering — IT, Control & Automation from McGill University, Canada in 2006. Before he returned to India to pursue his PG in Management from IIM, Bangalore Peyush worked as a Program Manager with Microsoft for a year.

During his IIM days, he launched his company, Valyoo Technologies with SearchMyCampus as the first business portal in 2007. It was a classifieds site for students that went beyond accommodation to books, part-time jobs, carpool facilities, and internship opportunities. His motto was to solve any and every issue that a student might have.

SearchMyCampus was a big hit, but Peyush wanted to explore it in the e-commerce world. While exploring opportunities, he came across the eyewear segment which was even ignored by the big boys of e-commerce, viz., Amazon & eBay. He launched Flyrr.com — which was focussed on the eyewear market in the US. Flyrr was gaining good traction and this prompted him to test the waters in the Indian markets and launched Lenskart in November 2010. They started with just selling contact lenses and added eyeglasses a few months later. Finally, in March 2011 they added sunglasses to their portfolio and placed themselves in the fashion accessory segment.

VALUATION The company had a valuation of $1.5 billion by Dec 2019 after Softbank invested around $275 million. Peyush Bansal, a former Microsoft employee, founded Lenskart in 2010 along with Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi.

Financial backers of Lenskart include TPG Growth, International Finance Corp, and Adveq Management. Ratan Tata (of Tata Sons) and S Gopalakrishnan (of Infosys) have also invested in Lenskart. In March 2018 Wipro Chairman Azim Premji invested 400cr in the group taking the valuation of the company to 3000 Crore. By 2016 Lenskart had become one of the two top optical chains in India, along with Titan Eye Plus. Its manufacturing facility in Delhi manufactures 300,000 glasses a month.

PRODUCT & SERVICES -Eyeglasses. -Premium Eyeglasses. -Sunglasses. -Shape. Wayfarer. Oval. Rounders. Cat Eye. Size. Small. -Brands. Bausch and Lomb. Johnson & Johnson. Alcon. -Color Contact Lenses, and many more.

GROWTH Lenskart becomes the last unicorn company in the year 2019. Lenskart is a New Delhi based startup founded in 2010. Lenskart app is with the widest collection of Specs, Sunglasses, Goggles, Frames, Anti Glare, Contact Lens, etc. Lenskart is India’s No.1 Online Shopping app for Specs, Sunglasses, Goggles, Frames, Anti Glare, Contact Lens, Reading Glasses, Computer Glasses, Try Glasses at Home, Prescription Sunglasses & Eye Accessories.  Lenskart adopted an innovative approach to take customers in conversation with Lenskart via emails throughout the buying cycle. Unlike the traditional way of communication where customers were just informed about the status of their order, the company adopted the base of the full-duplex model where customers were able to share views, express their thoughts in the process and be virtually engaged. By giving importance to customer experiences and engaging in open communication, the brand becomes more human and builds trust.

Lenkart is providing 5000 styles of eyewear to choose from and gives free home delivery with 14 days replacement guarantee. From sunglasses to reading glasses to contact lenses, Lenskart makes everything in eyewear categories. Now with a chain of offline stores, Lenkart has acquired both online and offline markets of eye wears.

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Financial backers of Lenskart include TPG Growth, International Finance Corp, and Adveq Management. Ratan Tata (of Tata Sons) and S Gopalakrishnan (of Infosys) have also invested in Lenskart. In March 2018 Wipro Chairman Azim Premji invested 400cr in the group taking the valuation of the company to 3000 Crore. By 2016 Lenskart had become one of the two top optical chains in India, along with Titan Eye Plus. Its manufacturing facility in Delhi manufactures 300,000 glasses a month. Lenskart also has a factory in Zhengzhou (China) which manufactures about 50% of the production. Lenskart launched the eyewear brand John Jacobs in 2017 and for that brand aimed to touch Rs 500 crore in revenue in two years. In 2018 the company became profitable (EBITD).

The company is in talks with the Japanese group SoftBank as well as the private equity firm Kedaara Capital for investment. These investments will make Lenskart next unicorn.

In October 2017, Lenskart’s first brand ambassador was Katrina Kaif. In March 2019 the company roped in Bhuvan Bam as their first male brand ambassador.

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Case Study- Digital Marketing Strategies of Lenskart 2024

• March 22, 2024

Table of Contents

A few decades ago, spectacles or glasses were not fashionable at all. But now, in 2024, glasses have turned into fashion accessories.

Spectacles have evolved into a symbol of knowledge and style along with facilitating us to see the world around us a little better.

One such business, which has revolutionized the eyewear industry, is Lenskart.

Lenskart was founded in the year 2010 by Peyush Bansal along with Sumeet Kapahi and Amit Chaudhary and was initially called “Valyoo Technologies” .

It was started to help almost 1/3 rd of the Indian population suffering from eyesight issues by making quality eyewear and lenses affordable.

Affordable luxury would be a better articulation of their mission and vision statement. They eliminated the cost of middlemen by utilizing in-house robotic technology to manufacture their lenses and eyewear components. 

Lenskart has over 5000 varieties of frames which is the largest collection among any retailer in India. Their top brands include RayBan, Oakley, and some amazing in-house collections.

They provide at-home try-on for their frames, home eye-test, and trial of lenses, have innumerable offline stores and flagship stores, and an amazing membership policy as well.

Lenskart has evolved tremendously in its inventory and reach from serving 30 customers a day to 3000 customers. Their revenue has increased to almost $2.5 billion with a monthly customer visit rate of 1 lakh.

And a part of this success needs to be credited to an innovative and engaging marketing strategy implemented by Lenskart. But before we analyze their digital marketing strategy, let us understand the importance of learning about the latest trends in marketing and how we can benefit from them.

Why Should Marketers Study Digital Marketing Strategies?

Digital Marketing is a fast-growing field and the need for well-informed and knowledgeable marketers has increased.

Learning about the latest marketing case studies , and strategies of brands will provide you with an edge over your competitors. And this edge is extremely beneficial in the long run.

It will help establish your brand and will make way for future career opportunities in the field of digital marketing.

It provides valuable insight into consumer behaviour, helps analyze and interpret real-time data efficiently, and helps in developing your critical thinking and problem-solving skills .

Possessing updated knowledge will help the implementation of holistic and innovative strategies.

These strategies facilitate the success of your marketing plan yielding favourable outcomes for both the business client and yourself. Better insights into the current trends open doors to amazing career opportunities which provide attractive salaries and benefits.

With enough experience, diversified careers in marketing can be explored due to the flexibility that comes with staying updated.

It also helps in the conceptualization and establishment of your marketing agency. As the industry will never face a recession, your job will continue to be stable and better opportunities will come along.

These are just some of the many benefits that one can experience by constantly researching and learning about the latest digital marketing practices.

Let us now discuss Lenskart’s ideal target segment around which three of its successful marketing campaigns were created.

Lenskart’s Target Segment

Lenskart’s top engagement audience comes in the age groups of 18-24 and 25-34.

About 38.74% of the audience belongs to the 18-24 age group making it their largest consumer pool.

And 35.96% of their audience belongs to the age group of 25-34. This implies that millennials and GenZ are their ideal clientele.

12.01% of Lenskart’s consumer base is made of those in the age group of 35-44. These are the top 3 contributors to engagement.

When it comes to gender-based distinctions, 62.30% of their consumers are male, while the remaining 37.70% are females.

Lenskart’s Digital Marketing Campaigns & Strategies

Let us now look at the digital marketing campaigns conceptualized and promoted by Lenskart that proved to be successful in their growth and revenue.

Campaign 1 – The War of Fair Prices #KaranVSPeyush

“The War of Fair Prices” was a digital campaign by Lenskart featuring Karan Johar and Peyush Bansal. The campaign aimed to create awareness about the fair pricing of eyewear and how it can change consumers’ perceptions of the high cost of eyeglasses.

The campaign effectively leveraged the celebrity endorsement of Karan Johar and the credibility of Peyush Bansal, the CEO of Lenskart, to drive home the message.

The use of humor and relatable scenarios made the campaign appealing to the target audience and helped in building brand recall.

The campaign received widesprea d attention on social media , contributing to the overall brand awareness and perception of Lenskart as a trusted and affordable eyewear retailer.

Campaign 2 – Nazar Ghati Durghatna Ghati 2.0

Launched during the IPL season in October of 2021 , this was Lenskart’s hilarious take on solving issues that might originate due to poor vision. The ad campaign consisted of a series of short ad films which hilariously dealt with the topic of mishaps due to poor sight.

The ads utilized some of the top unbelievable and hilarious IPL moments to market the importance of good sights. From fielders colliding with each other and the wicketkeeper being unable to take the wicket, they all ended on a humorous note with the saying “Nazar ghati, dhurgatna ghati” .

The ad campaign also focused a film on a player using a protection cup instead of a face mask and cleverly marketed the need for their quality lenses and glasses.

The main purpose of this ad was to showcase their latest Augmented reality feature which now allowed customers to try on their virtual glasses and even receive suggestions depending on their face shape, all in under 10 seconds.

The ads were exclusively run during the IPL season on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. They were also broadcast on television.

The ad was a roaring success as 1 out of 4 customers were trying the new feature, and conversions were pouring in.

One of the main reasons for the huge success of this campaign, apart from the wit and humour, was the timing. They created consumer-centric ads by taking advantage of the excitement around IPL and expanding their demographic.

Campaign 3 – #HalkaRakhYaar

The #Halkarakhyaar campaign was launched in October 2019. This was the first set of TVC ads that were conceptualized and created by Mullen Lowe Lintas group, with Bhuvan Bam as Lenskart’s brand ambassador .

This campaign aimed to showcase their AIR range which harmoniously blends style, comfort, and functionality. They opted for a carefree and free-spirited approach to showcase the modern and eclectic style of their latest collection.

A series of ad films were shot with Bhuvan as a pivotal character for plots that were fun, engaging, and relatable.

They implied their standard tone of wit and humour when dealing with common scenarios and created very memorable content for their audience. This was a consumer-centric campaign in the sense that the whole idea was based on valuable insight received from consumers about a need for light, airy, and stylish eyewear.

This was a revolutionary campaign as they broke the traditional stereotypes associated with celebrity endorsements by roping in Bhuvan Bam, a well-known YouTube star, as their brand ambassador.

This ad was marketed on television and social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook to reach a much wider demographic. The ad reflected their quirky and unique brand identity, helped tap into the influencer marketing potential, and successfully increased their online presence and sales.

Campaign 4 – Pride 22 #SeeTheLove

Launched in June of 2022, the main aim of the campaign was to spark conversations about fluidity, freedom to express, curiosity, boldness, and carefreeness that extend beyond the month of June. The real conversations that matter.

By building on the line “See the love, not labels. See the pride, not prejudice” , Lenskart released its collection of bold, colourful, inclusive, freeing, and proud eyewear to symbolize its support for the LGBTQ+ community as a proud ally. The eyewear experimented with iconic PRIDE symbols, colours, and objects to symbolize the concept of being free and unapologetically yourself.

The series of ad films told stories that mattered and consisted of proud members of the LGBTQ+ to narrating those stories.

Lenskart released a series of 7 episodes under this campaign to narrate the stories of how the community continues to enrich our lives and how the members like to identify themselves.

These ad campaigns were marketed on social media platforms and on Lenskart’s official website to reach a wider demographic. Overall, the campaign proved to be a success due to its authenticity, quality, and its perfect timing.

Lenskart’s Social Media Marketing Strategies & Case Study

2.76% of Lenskart’s engagement comes from different social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. That means that almost 2.8k visitors a month are solely pouring in through ads marketed on these social media platforms.

Social media marketing refers to promoting a business online on specific platforms based on the requirements of that business.

It is one of the most effective marketing strategies due to its cost-effectiveness, potential to convert leads, and high flexibility.

Social media marketing is a budget-friendly way to create an updated and engaging online and social presence that reflects your brand identity and value.

Lenskart has a well-rounded and engaging social media presence on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Whatsapp.

Let’s briefly look at their  YouTube , Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, and Instagram, marketing channels & followers;

YouTube is one of their largest channels, with 166k subscribers and a cumulative view count of more than 3.5 million. It is responsible for 53.42% of the total traffic, making it the largest contributor. They mostly curate updates on the latest collection, offers, and unboxing videos for their YouTube channel. They also repost influencer content to increase their presence.

Facebook and LinkedIn occupy the 2 nd and 3 rd positions respectively by contributing 19.79% and 08.83% each. With close to 174k followers on LinkedIn, Lenskart is one of the few businesses that are appropriately utilizing LinkedIn to reach a highly specific demographic.

And their Facebook account has 1.5 million followers who engage with their content regularly. Their Facebook content consists of updates on the latest offers and deals, service-related information, and an aesthetic feed to reflect their brand image.

WhatsApp occupies the 4 th position by bringing in 7.91% of the traffic respectively.

Lenskart’s SEO Strategies & Case Study

Optimizing your online presence is the best approach to improving your online visibility, ranking and reach. And the process of doing that is SEO.

Search Engine Optimization refers to the process of optimizing a website to improve its ranking on search engines and increase visibility and online presence.

It helps generate organic traffic and is great for adding credibility and transparency to any business.

SEO also helps with quality lead generation and conversions . It is a great cost-effective strategy to improve the growth of your business.

35.21% of Lenskart’s traffic is generated by organic searches. This indicates a highly optimized online presence. The business receives 5.6 million visits a month for an average duration of 4.2 minutes each.

They occupy the 16 th position in the country concerning online shopping and the marketplace. Having said this, Lenskart’s bounce rate is rather high, with 45.6% of its visitors leaving the site after surfing through only 1 page.

Lenskart has updated its website to ensure it always ranks first when its name is searched, regardless of any new updates that happen in the search engine. It is a mobile-first, SEO-friendly website .

They have highly specific CTA buttons, which are great for converting leads into conversions and retargeting.

They have an optimized SMS and email bundle, which is sent out regularly which helps consumers complete their purchases and again helps with retargeting.

Over 61% of its traffic is organic, and Lensakrt has optimized its keyword database with over 3000 keywords to help with its ranking.

The top 5 searches that drive traffic to the Lenskart website are

• Lenskart.com
• Lenskart India
• Lenskart near me are

Other keywords include

• Specs, and similar words in the group.

Lenskart has an engaging and highly interactive content marketing strategy and social media strategy which promotes its brand and hence makes it memorable.

Overall, they have optimized their presence to help with better lead generation and conversions, but there is an area for improvement in their bounce rate and retargeting tactics.

Lenskart’s Website Strategy

Lenskart’s official website has been optimized by embedding 54 technologies to ensure a smooth customer experience. These technologies have been taken from 13 different industries like advertising, currency converters and payment systems, conversions and analytics, mobile , and so much more.

The website has been optimized for search engines. It has a mobile-first approach and facilitates easy navigation through clear and simple categories.

They also display their vast visual inventory in an organized format along with their international stores. Eyeglasses, computer glasses, kids’ glasses, lenses, sunglasses, hope tests and trials, and store locators are the major categories. Each of these has been further classified for easy access and ordering. They also provide a user-friendly order tracking system to update customers on their purchases.

The visuals are engaging and have a lot of movement in them which is great for grabbing and maintaining the attention of the consumers. The filters are highly versatile and flexible, which contributes to a hassle-free and enjoyable customer experience. Lenskart also emphasizes flexibility in payments which is great for confirming successful purchases.

Overall, Lenskart has a well-rounded and highly optimized website which is great for improving its online visibility, generating leads, and increasing revenue.

Lenskart’s Paid Ad Strategies & Case Study

Paid ads refer to the concept of generating ad campaigns through a service provider and paying them an agreed-upon amount when their ads generate leads. It works on a commission basis.

Paid ads are great for directing quality leads and traffic to the website of any business. They are more flexible in terms of budget and concept in comparison to traditional marketing practices. They are profitable as they have high ROI. Paid ads are measurable and bring about almost immediate results.

Almost 40% of Lenskart’s traffic is generated by paid ads. 5 important paid ad strategies have been optimized to improve its reach and sales. They are PPC, social media ads, influencer marketing, banner ads, and Ad retargeting.

Pay-per-click ads are placed at high-engagement areas online and on partner sites to generate high-quality leads that end in conversions. They have placed social media ads on their official account and in high-traffic areas to attract the right audience. Most of Lenskart’s ad campaigns are promoted on social media and through direct marketing and hence have a wide reach.

Lenskart has broken influencer marketing stereotypes by roping in a popular YouTuber as its official brand ambassador. This was an extremely smart move that enabled them to tap into a highly specific and already engaged audience.  And they have a well-rounded retargeting strategy that involves constant reminders through email and SMS which helps in following through with the leads.

Lenskart’s Influencer Marketing Strategy

Influencer marketing is one of the most profitable and trendy marketing practices. It refers to the idea of influencers or those with an online following promoting businesses to their followers.

It works based on the trust and loyalty that these opinion leaders have earned, which puts them alongside experts.

It is far more budget-friendly than celebrity endorsements without compromising on the reach or quality of leads. It reduces marketing efforts as influencers come up with creative ways to market the product, which reduces the burden of ad conceptualization on the parent company.

And lastly, it generates high-quality leads with a high chance of conversion because the audience is already engaged with the product through the influencer.

Lenskart has a fully optimized influencer marketing strategy which is reflected in its choice in going for a YouTuber as its brand ambassador.

1% of their traffic comes through direct referrals and 2.76% from social media. This makes the influencer marketing strategy a highly beneficial one.

They collaborate with lifestyle, tech, fashion, wellness, and other similar category influencers to generate content for their promotions and social media pages.

They focus on the quality of content but there are still areas like the authenticity and uniqueness of their content, which can still be improved.

Lenskart’s E-commerce Strategy & Case Study

Any strategy that is implemented to help boost the sales of your online business is called an e-commerce strategy . The main aim is to increase the online presence of your business by promoting your brand.

Lenskart has a fully optimized e-commerce strategy which has helped the business grow tremendously over the years.

In the year 2014, Lenskart decided to go online with its business. They implemented the D2C approach or the direct-to-customer approach.

This eliminated all the middlemen involved and the commission they cut and therefore reduced the price of quality eyewear.

This is one of the most important e-commerce strategies which has helped Lenskart establish its brand value and presence in the Indian e-commerce market.

To ensure smooth and efficient delivery, Lenskart has tied up with logistics companies like Bluedart and Delhivery . This has ensured a great experience for their customers.

They also have a fully optimized website and mobile app that helps improve the customer experience and also contributes toward recurring sales.

They have a clearly defined clientele group which facilitates the optimization of all their marketing channels. This widens their reach and impact, thus contributing to better sales.

They have also successfully marketed their content to reach a large audience and this has contributed to inculcating loyalty towards the brand.

Overall, Lenskart has an extremely dynamic and holistic e-commerce strategy which is one of the key contributors to revenue.

Lenskart’s App Strategy

In 2022, mobile applications are a must for any large business. They create a 24/7 presence for the brand, reflect the identity of the brand, and help with brand value. It is also a great way to provide your customers with a smooth and hassle-free experience. And this makes your business memorable and a cut above the rest.

Lenskart’s mobile app is extremely well-developed and fit to be navigated by all age groups. With a simple and clear UI design, visual inventory display, customer support access, and distinctive categories, the whole process of surfing and ordering eyewear has been simplified.  The latest collections, offers, updates, and deals are displayed in big bold banners at the beginning to attract new leads.

One of the most unique features of their app is the 3-D virtual try-on . This provides the customers with an opportunity to make quick decisions and buy products much faster.

The login and registration processes are extremely clear and simple.

The app also has the provision to book home eye tests and also locate the nearest stores.

The application has several panels like the admin panel, consumer panel, eye test panel, and delivery panel.

This facilitates effective communication between the teams and ensures smooth order processing.

Lenskart’s Content Marketing Strategy

From getting Katrina Kaif on board as Lenskart’s brand ambassador to creating stellar ads, Lenskart always had a strong content marketing strategy.

Content marketing refers to the concept of sharing valuable content in the form of videos, blogs, podcasts, ads, or social media posts to help keep customers engaged, attract new leads, and maintain their loyalty.

It is a cost-effective way to make a memorable presence and promote brand awareness. It also deeply reflects your brand value.

Businesses that utilize content to stay connected generate 67% more leads and more than 47% of consumers go through the content of a business before making a purchase.

And 72% of businesses will agree that content marketing is an extremely powerful tool for generating quality leads.

Lenskart utilizes its content pool very efficiently to market to its ideal clientele.

They have quirky and innovative ads, blogs, unboxing videos, influencer material, and social media posts.

Lenskart’s official blog creates articles related to people and culture, fashion, lifestyle, technology and product development, and startups.

Their social media pages are updated, dynamic, and highly engaging with posts on the latest market trends.

They have even mobilized meme marketing to ensure that they connect with a younger demographic and create a great impression. This indicates their omnipresent approach to promoting their business through content.

Lenskart’s Organic Competitors

Lenskart operates both online and offline. While this hybrid model has several benefits, it also presents a plethora of competitors, from both domains.

Apart from other retailers in the area, Lenskart’s top five organic competitors are

• Titan eye plus
• Essilor India

Flipkart has the highest affinity score of 100% and hence occupies 1 st place on the list.

Titan eye plus and Eye my eye have affinity scores of 92% and 85% respectively.

Essilor India and Tatacliq occupy the 4 th and 5 th positions with affinity scores of 84% and 79%.

These are the top 5 competitors and the diagram represents other important factors like monthly view rate and category rank to provide a better understanding of the competitors.

Lenskart’s aim of making quality eyewear affordable by eliminating middlemen and using in-house robot technology is a strength.

Their team consists of trained professionals who conduct eye tests and write prescriptions. This adds credibility to their business.

Lenskart’s willingness to educate the customers on their best options is a great tactic to build trust and loyalty.

And finally, their versatile collection of brands, designs, and categories of eyewear ensures there is something for everyone.

With strengths come weaknesses and achieving the right balance with pricing is key to establishing brand identity and value.

You can neither price it too low nor too high. Low prices might tarnish brand value while high prices might lose customers to other retailers.

Now coming to ways through which they can optimize their reach, Lenskart has several ways to tap into wider demographics using the latest tools and resources to increase the consumer base.

Adding customization features to their frames is a great tactic to generate quality leads and sales . And improving their social media presence by enhancing creativity and innovation in their content is great to improve their presence while attracting new customers and retaining loyal ones.

Lenskart also has a series of challenges that hinder its progress. Stiff competition from online and offline retailers dilutes the quality of leads and traffic that comes their way. And a constant need to stay innovative and unique can get taxing.

But overall, Lenskart has implemented several innovative marketing strategies to help reach its goals faster.

Within a span of a decade, they have evolved into a top business force in the country. Through its consumer-centric approach to product development and marketing, Lenskart will continue to thrive and grow.

Enrol in Digital Scholar’s  online digital marketing course  to improve your company’s digital marketing tactics. This course is for anyone interested in learning everything there is to know about digital marketing and how to apply it to their own company.

What do you love the most about Lenskart? Let us know in the comments below!

Also, check the list of digital marketing case studies of brands:

MRF Tyres Digital Marketing Case Study

Flipkart’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Mama Earth’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Tanishq’s Digital marketing strategies

First Cry’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Shopclues’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Amazon’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Cadbury’s Digital Marketing Strategies

Written By Digital Scholar

Digital Scholar is a premier agency-styled digital marketing institute in India. Which offers an online digital marketing course and a free digital marketing course worldwide to elevate their digital skills and become industry experts. Digital Scholar is headed by Sorav Jain and co-founder Rishi Jain, who are pioneers in the field of digital marketing. Digital Scholar’s blogs touch upon numerous aspects of digital marketing and help you get intensive ideas of different domains of digital marketing.

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Lenskart Case Study : Marketing Strategy & Success Story

By  Sreeresh   |  Date  :  14-December-2022

    Home > Blog > Lenskart case study

Lenskart is an online eyewear store and it provides a wide range of eyewear products. 

It has a diverse collection of eyewear brands and it has a sound marketing strategy. 

I will write a detailed lenskart case study based on their website, products and marketing strategy in detail in this blog.

The dramatic entry by Lenskart  to the Indian optical industry landscape marked a paradigm shift in how the business was conducted. 

The traditional model of doing business through brick-and-mortar stores was still the norm in India’s optical industry. 

To purchase glasses, lenses, contact lenses or sunglasses, one must visit an optical shop or other retail shops . 

Many optical shops offered eye checks for customers’ convenience, which helped to attract new customers. 

While E-commerce was quickly gaining popularity and online shopping was rapidly catching up during this time, it mainly focused on household products and appliances, food and groceries, as well as clothing, footwear and jewelry. 

It also offered electronic gadgets, such as smartphones and other digital devices. Online shopping was limited to sunglasses. 

About Lenskart

The Lenskart founder was a genius in providing more purchasing options for consumers. 

This helped establish Lenskart credibility and allow consumers to buy eyewear online.

This approach was similar to selling new concepts first, then inviting consumers to buy eyewear online.

Lenskart is an online and offline distribution channel. It is also one of the most popular ecommerce brands. 

Customers can order Lenskart products through Lenskart’s imaginatively designed offline stores. 

Lenskart is a fast-growing business network in India. It has more than 120 cities, over 500 stores that are profitable, and more than 50 million satisfied customers. 

It is registered with Valyoo Technologies, its parent company. Lenskart app has the largest selection of eyewear, and is the most popular online shopping app. 

It offers a wide range of eyewear including computer glasses and reading glasses. 

The collection also includes contact lenses, anti-glare goggles and specs.

Founders Of Lenskart

Peyush Bansal: He was born 26 April 1985 and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering, IT Control & Automation, McGill University, Canada. 

After completing his graduation in 2006 he completed his PGD in Entrepreneurship at IIM (Indian Institute of Management), Bengaluru. 

He joined Microsoft in the USA as a program manager shortly after completing his PG. 

After serving there for about 11 months, he returned to India to follow his dream of being an entrepreneur. Before Lenskart was launched, he had founded around five companies .

He founded Valyoo Technologies, his company during his IIM days. With Rs. 

It was a huge success and attracted a staggering 25,00,000. It was an online classified portal that students could use to solve their problems. 

You can find part-time work, carpool, internship opportunities , coaching books, and many other things.

He discovered that the eyewear market was very underdeveloped. 

In June 2009, he launched Flyrr.com, an online shop. It sold contact lenses and sunglasses. 

The store was primarily focused on the US market, but he decided that he could replicate the model in India and launch Lenskart in 2010.

Neha Bansal:  She is also a co-founder at Lenskart. Before joining Lenskart, she was a partner in Vinod Kumar and Associates.

Amit Choudhary: Cofounder of Lenskart. Amit Chaudhary, a Computer Science Engineer at BITs Mesra in Ranchi, is also a co-founder. 

He loves to travel and has a passion for it. He is a Kolkata native and attended Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan School. 

He has made revolutionary changes to the business through his deep understanding of technology as well as his innovative ideas.

Sumeet Kapahi: a student at Delhi University, was previously a business development manager for Luxottica India Eyewear Rayban before joining Lenskart as one of its co-founders.

Lenskart Swot Analysis

•  No big Competitor
• Advanced and patented technology usage
• Strong presence in the e-commerce business
• Strong brand portfolio
• Strong identify & brand image
• Trendy store layout
• High quality products
• Indian public is still not open to purchase eye-gear online

OPPORTUNITY

• Expansion in new markets: international markets
• Development of new concepts
• Increasing online sales
• Competitive or fluctuated e-commerce
• Change in government regulations
• Product prices may be too high for certain demographic groups to afford

Marketing Strategy Of Lenskart

1. Inventory Based

company system The business model is based on inventory. Lenskart provides thousands of frame designs and 45+ quality lenses for customers. 

The company reveals the designs to its suppliers. In the process of developing items, Lenskart is focused on high-end design, durable, broad variety, ingenuity and even services like an in-depth 3D-based testing lab. 

Lenskart utilizes German imported robotic technology that has resulted in Lenskart the sole Indian company to manufacture products with a precision that can reach 3-decimals.

2. Advertisement on Google (Google ads )

Google advertisements are among the most efficient strategies for companies in the present digital age. 

Lenskart employs this strategy as well and also invests money in ads on Google. It makes use of popular keywords such as frames, eyeglasses, sunglasses as well as computer-related glasses. 

It also advertises its products by using overpriced Google Shopping ads, where the user can also decide to take action. 

Lenskart utilizes Google advertisements through video ads, display ads and app download advertisements as well as others.

3. Social Media campaign

They use Facebook and Instagram advertisements to promote their services. 

Lenskart also makes use of traditional advertisements such as TV ads, newspaper advertisements, email marketing and many more. 

These tin-based actions have allowed the brand to grow into a well-known and respected brand of eyewear in India

4. Multi-channel retailer Business Model  

The company analyzed Indian mentality and observed that many people are wary of purchasing eyewear on the internet. 

This is why it decided to establish bricks and mortar shops in India. 

The company provides services that are available online as well as offline. It currently has 550+ locations spread across 30+ cities.

Lenskart Website is optimized for user-friendliness. The site has a solid seo and receives 1.8 million monthly visitors.

6. Concentrate on quality and cost Focus on quality and price  

Lenskart was aware of the existing issues that existed in the Indian market. It was focused on launching new and affordable products that did not compromise on the quality. 

“Lenskart Blu” is one of their most innovative products that shield the eyes against harmful ultraviolet radiation. 

They also offer a wide selection of ultra-light, unbreakable and super-flexible glasses under the style”Airflex” “Airflex”.

7. Celebrity endorsements 

Lenskart’s products do not provide a cure for eyesight. However, they also provide a style message for the customer. 

So the brand promotes celebrities to appeal to the younger crowd. 

First brand ambassador for Lenskart was Katrina Kaif followed by Bhuvan Bam. 

Lenskart is associated with a variety of popular high-end brands such as Ray-Ban, Vogue, John Jacobs among others. 

It allows customers to have access to a broad variety of high-end products in one place.

8. Franchises that operate offline

In the year 2014 Lenskart began to open offline shops to advertise its products. 

The company took on the franchise model to cater to customers across India. 

The company has now more than 720 stores across India and is planning to expand its reach. 

The franchise business model has boosted the presence on the internet of Lenskart with the least expenditure. 

In the event of the covid-19 pandemic the majority of businesses had to close their shops. and then go online. 

However, Lenskart did something bold by opening up more than 300 stores to create an overall total of 1000 stores. 

Lenskart is focused on bringing more customers via its stores that are not physically located.

9. Virtual reality technology  

Lenskart gives a live experience to customers using its application. 

The brand introduced its first-ever 3D test-on feature through a partnership with a start-up company in California called Ditto. 

The feature allowed the user the opportunity to test any image in virtual real-time. 

Peyush Bansal believed the feature an extremely successful marketing strategy. It brought more than 15,000 users each per day on the Lenskart website.

10. B2C model 

B2C refers to Business-to-Customer. It is an e-commerce method which eliminates middlemen in order in the sale of products. 

Lenskart utilizes this strategy to sell its goods through its websites as well as its mobile application. 

This B2C model has allowed the company to create products that are affordable for everyone. 

It gathers feedback from customers to better understand their behavior in marketing. 

Lenskart has partnered with a variety of logistics firms, such as BlueDart, Delhivery, etc. for quick delivery services. 

It assures prompt and secure delivery of their products to customers.

11.Modern eye testing   

Lenskart offers the latest in technology eye testing for its customers in their stores and at their home. 

The equipment used to test eyes is imported from the USA which is more efficient than traditional equipment and tools employed in India. 

The customer must book an appointment for testing their eyes and an experienced optometrist will come to their home to complete the process of testing.

12. Discounts that are attractive

Lenskart has researched Indian attitudes and has realized that the local population is excited by discounts. 

This is why the company has exciting discount deals and offers. 

They also offer special discounts, such as free eye exams, giving the first frame at no cost to new customers and many more. 

The test at home facility is a unique offer by itself. The specialist in eyewear carries with him the most popular frames available for customers to test in their own homes. 

Discounts and offers have proven to be among the most effective strategies for marketing and have brought many customers to the site.

Lenskart is recognized among the most prestigious startups in India because of its distinctive marketing strategies. 

It was also included in the ” Top 10 promising e-commerce Indian startups in 2021″ by the Indian Wire.   

The company has won millions of hearts through providing the most effective eyewear options to the masses. 

No thanks, I’m not interested!

💡[Case Study] Lenskart’s Strategy that Changed Indian Eyewear Industry Forever

[10 min read] learn how lenskart beat reliance and tata, one strategy at a time. here’s a deep dive that you just can’t miss readon👇🏼.

One word: Lenskart. 

Vision of the company?

To bring ‘Vision to India'.

According to WHO, only one-third of the 100 million Indians who need a pair of spectacles have access to it.

Lenskart set out to change this. 

And today, it has become a household name, with stores covering about 313 cities in the country.

The Indian eyewear market went from generating a revenue of $3.17 billion in 2014 to an estimated revenue of $6.10 billion in 2024. The market is set to grow at a 7.54% CAGR between 2024 and 2028. 

While about 80% of this market is dominated by unorganised players, Lenskart captures around 41% share in the organized eyewear market.

It has even beaten giants like Tata's Titan and Reliance's Vision Express!

In this piece we will discuss:

Eyewear problems before Lenskart

The supply chain problem solved by Lenskart

The real hero of the eyewear industry revolution

What are other eyewear players doing?

Is the Lenskart model easy to replicate?

The future of eyewear industry

Lenskart Came, Saw & Conquered  

Before the arrival of Lenskart in 2010, the Indian eyewear market was flooded with:

mediocre quality products, 

limited design options, and

unorganised players offering no guarantees and no warranties. 

Amongst all these deficiencies, three things were high in this market: 

the lead time for deliveries, 

the margin of error in the end products and 

the cost of products to consumers. 

Lenskart simply tried to solve these real customer problems: 

Robotic automated eye-testing: Remember how it would take days to adjust into your new pair of glasses only to later realise that the power in the eyeglasses does not match the power in your eyes? Where traditional eyewear shops could not guarantee a 100% accuracy, Lenskart brought in best-in-class robotic technologies from Germany, offering zero error tolerance. 

Virtual try-ons, easy returns: Remember when buying clothes without knowing how they would look on you seemed ridiculous? Then came the e-commerce boom that eased you into buying them online without any trial with features such as easy returns and exchanges. 

But hey, specs are not socks. You would not buy a pair to match all your outfits. So when it came to buying eyewear, you had to be absolutely sure that they suit you. 

To solve these user apprehensions without which online shopping of eyewear would be a dream, Lenskart came up with a brilliant use of augmented reality (AR) technologies to enable virtual 3D try-ons for its customers. 

At-home and in-store eye checkups: A doctor’s visit was almost mandatory every time you needed to check your eye power. Lenskart realised the acute shortage of optometrists in the country and it started to offer at-home eye checkups by trained optometrists. Not shortly after, it became apparent that there were many people who could not even afford eye-check ups. Lenskart offered free in-store eye checkups, truly making vision correction much more accessible in India.

Good quality at affordable prices: One of the biggest problems in the Indian eyewear market was that eyewear prices were at extreme ends. Either you could opt for cheaper products with low quality or you had to spend a bomb for the good quality glasses. Only a very few could afford to opt for the high quality, high price products considering the need to often change eyeglasses due to a change in the power. 

Lenskart identified a gap in the market where no one was selling good quality products in a mid-range segment that made customers say “paisa vasool!” It eliminated intermediaries in the supply chain and started to offer products at highly competitive prices.

Rapid delivery: Most e-commerce businesses had to compete with the instant gratification of offline purchases with a considerable time for delivery in online shopping. But where customers had to wait for 6-7 days to get delivery of glasses purchased at retail stores, Lenskart was offering a 72-hour delivery.

Hassle free returns: Most products that one would purchase online could be easily sold to other customers if returned. However, that does not hold true with spectacles which are customised for each user. But Lenskart was offering a 14-day no questions asked return policy, to help the users find ease in online eyewear shopping.

The Eyewear Industry Supply Chain

Like many other consumer products, eyeglasses were also predominantly imported from China. Following a traditional supply chain mechanism made eyeglasses an expensive affair. 

How was the traditional supply chain structured?  

Glasses were primarily imported from China by importers which then changed hands from distributors to retailers before reaching the end customer. At each leg of the supply chain, each intermediary kept a slice of the pie for themselves, increasing the cost of the product to the end customer. 

What did Lenskart do when it entered the market?  

They did what typically all e-commerce players were doing at that time. They became the sole middleman between the manufacturer and the customer, eliminating the importers, distributors and retailers of the supply chain. In doing so, they also eliminated the excess margins at each step of the chain.

How did Lenskart gain competitive advantage with a lean supply chain?

Affordable pricing by eliminating intermediary costs.

Design and quality were much more in Lenskart’s control owing to its direct relation with manufacturers.

Reduced lead time as products were directly sourced from manufacturers.

Ease of business by eliminating middlemen helped Lenskart deal with hassles of collections, unsold inventories and write-offs that grappled the traditional supply chain.

The Real Hero of the Eyewear Industry Revolution: Tech 

What technologies, you ask? 

Let’s go through some of the most significant technological advancements in the eyewear industry.

Manufacturing: went from a laborious and heavy machinery reliant process to a computer-aided and automated process. As a result, higher quality products are produced with higher efficiency in lesser time.

Features: Lenskart, through its continuous research, development and innovation began offering lighter glasses with more features such as anti-glare glasses and blue light filtering lenses. 

Automated testing: The accuracy of diagnosis in vision correction was not an easy problem to solve.By using zero error machinery and enabling at-home eye tests by trained optometrists, customers could now get their prescription without even stepping out of their homes. 

Virtual try-ons: The use of cameras on smartphones and augmented reality (AR) helped solve the trial-before-purchase. Customers could simply upload a selfie and get recommendations based on size and style. They could even try on the glasses virtually from the comfort of their homes!  

AI and machine learning: AI and ML provide personalised recommendations to customers to complement their facial features.

Other Players in the Eyewear Market 

So, is Lenskart the “gunda” of the eyewear market? 

Maybe, but it is not without a fight. 

The lure and potential of India’s growing eyewear industry is lucrative and with about 80% of the market still unorganised, there is plenty of fish in the sea for everyone.

In fact, when Lenskart began its operations in 2010, it wasn't the only player. 

There was already one player that was rapidly growing in the retail market. It had the backing of one of the most renowned and trusted brands in India – the Tatas. 

Yes, we're talking about Titan Eyeplus, which was already 200 showrooms strong in 2011. 

But today, Lenskart’s market share is 5 times that of all of Titan’s Eyewear brands like Titan Eyeplus and Fastrack put together. 

When Tata is in the play, how can Ambani be far behind! 

While Tatas were opening Titan Eyeplus stores across the country, Reliance entered into a joint venture with Europe’s Grand Vision opening a chain of Vision Express stores in the retail markets.

So how did Lenskart manage to surpass these companies with deep pockets and established brands in becoming a household name for eyewear? 

Lenskart realised very early on in the game that while its D2C proposition is great, the eyewear industry cannot go completely online. 

It adopted an omni-channel strategy. 

Yes, while most D2C brands are now moving from an online-only to an omni-channel presence, Lenskart did this on day 1. 

Not just legacy brands like Tata and Reliance, today the eyewear market has a number of new age D2C players like Specsmakers, Cool Winks, Eye My Eye and ClearDekho, walking on a path paved by Lenskart. 

Lenskart, in FY23, was way ahead of its competition not only in terms of market share but also in terms of revenue. Where Lenskart reported a revenue of 3,780 crore rupees in FY23, Titan’s eyewear segment reported a revenue of 689 crore rupees . 

Not just in revenue, Lenskart has an upper hand even in its physical presence across the country, having over 1300 stores across 313 cities in India, 1.5 times the number of Titan Eyewear stores in India.  

While Lenskart is clearly winning the volume game, it reported a profit of approximately 6.8% against its revenue in FY23 (amounting to Rs. 260 crore ) recovering from a Rs. 100 crore loss reported in FY22 . 

Titan Eyewear, on the other hand, earned a profit at about 14.2% (amounting to 98 crore rupees ). 

While information on profitability of other players is not publicly available, it would be interesting to see whether Lenskart can make money and still stay at the top.

Is Lenskart’s Model Easy to Replicate?

There is no denying that Lenskart did bring a brilliant vision into the India eyewear industry that forced even the biggies like Titan and Reliance to start offering online shopping experience to consumers. 

The success of Lenskart did, undoubtedly, inspire many other D2C players into the market. 

But this brings us to the question: while Lenskart is reaping the fruits of first mover advantage, has the Lenskart model now become easy to replicate?

The barrier of entry is easing with the increase in access to institutional capital and Lenskart has already done the back breaking work of getting the market accustomed to ease of online purchase of eyewear. 

Today, all the major players in the market offer the same technological innovations and value propositions offered by Lenskart – be it virtual try-ons or affordable products or at-home eye testing.

Will Lenskart manage to retain or widen the gap between itself and its competitors or is it a matter of time before they catch up? 

Well, even today, there are a few things that set Lenskart apart from its competition. 

One of the biggest cards in Lenskart’s favor is its manufacturing setup . Over its time in the industry, Lenskart realised that to deliver true value to customers, it must have better control over production. Today, it operates the world’s largest automated eyewear manufacturing facility in India. Its vertical integration has enabled it to not just reduce its reliance on imports, but also to effectively manage turnaround times and inventory across the supply chain.

Second, Lenskart has exhibited great strength in its innovative solutions solving real consumer problems. One such example involves showcasing the true essence of its omni-channel presence by offering a pick-up-from-store service, wherein, the customers would select and order from the online store and pick up the ready product from the nearest store after trying it in person and being fully satisfied with the fit.

Future of Eyewear Industry

Like any other industry, the eyewear industry is bound to get more competitive and saturated with time, but the future of the industry’s favor will lie in continuous innovation. 

Even today, there is a huge section of the market that remains unorganised and a consumer segment in Tier 2 and Tier 3 India is still untapped. 

New and emerging companies, like ClearDekho are targeting these untapped markets and mining for exponential value.

While Lenskart is expanding its presence in the global market, Google and Apple are taking technological advancements and innovations to new heights by developing smart eyewear. With a combination of augmented reality, advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence, the end product could end up replacing our omnipresent smartphones.

As the market grows and evolves, the customer-centric approach and ability to innovate and demonstrate agility will determine the success of eyewear brands in the industry. 

What would be key to note would be whether the businesses will grow with the support of hefty discounts and cash burns or whether sustainable, profitable businesses can emerge as competition increases.

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• Research Publications 52381
• Researchers 5498
• Organization Units 167
• Projects 121

This repository provides metadata of IIMB Publications and aimed at creating and preserving an archive of Institution scholarship. IIMB Publications include Articles, Working Papers (FULL TEXT), Book Chapters published by Faculty, Doctoral Dissertations by FPM Scholars and Project reports of Students enrolled in various courses of IIMB.

• Students Scholar Bank

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Google Scholar TM

Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.

Non-performing Loan and Its Management in Ethiopia: A case study on Dashen Bank Mekelle Area Bank, in Tigray

Ids item types, copyright holder, usage metrics.