In Telangana, Lenskart Intends to Construct the Biggest Eyewear Production Plant

Nitin Konde, Varun Bhardwaj

Dec 11, 2024 — 3 min read

Lenskart Plans Largest Eyewear Production Plant in Telangana

With an estimated INR 1,500 crore in investment, IPO-bound Lenskart intends to establish its largest eyewear manufacturing facility in Telangana. On December 9, 2024, state IT and industries and commerce minister Duddilla Sridhar Babu posted on X that the Gurugram-based eyeglasses company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to develop the facility in Fab City located at Raviryala village in Maheshwaram mandal of Rangareddy district.

With an approximate expenditure of INR 1,500 crore, Lenskart would establish the largest eyewear manufacturing facility in the world in the state of Telangana. According to Babu's post on X, the plant will manufacture eyeglasses, lenses, sunglasses, accessories, and other goods for the Indian market in addition to exporting to other Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

Locking the Land

The facility will be built in Fab City, where land has already been selected and will be given to the business this week, Babu continued. There are rumoured talks on setting up an R&D plant, and the plant will generate about 2,100 jobs. Babu stated, "This is evidence of the state's policy that guarantees speed and ease of business for companies."

Lenskart was worth $5.6 billion this year after a fund run by the big American financial services company Fidelity raised its value. According to the most recent valuation of the business as of September 30, this indicates a 12% increase in the firm's fair worth in Fidelity's books. According to reports, Lenskart generated $1 billion in income annually for the current fiscal year. Temasek, Singapore's state-owned investment firm, and Fidelity contributed $200 million to Lenskart's secondary investment in June of this year. Secondary sales provide a means of paying back early investors when new companies' value increases.

In this financing, the company managed by Peyush Bansal was valued at roughly $5 billion. In June of last year, the company raised $100 million in a fundraising round that valued it at $4.5 billion. With about $1 billion in money raised over the last two years, Lenskart is among the biggest growth-stage financings in the world.

Lenskart on Expansion Spree

While expanding quickly throughout Asia, Lenskart is still expanding its market share in India. Its distinctive click-and-mortar business strategy is upending the eyewear market by providing a multi-channel consumer experience through mobile apps, online platforms, and physical stores. Currently, the corporation operates over 2,500 outlets, with 2,000 of those being in India.

Delhi-based Lenskart faces competition from companies like Warby Parker, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Titan Eyeplus, and the Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group, both domestically and internationally.

In order to expand its business and obtain access to new technology, the corporation has also been making acquisitions. These include businesses like Tango Eye, a firm focused on computer vision and artificial intelligence. In 2022, Owndays, a Japanese brand, joined the Lenskart group in an estimated $400 million purchase.