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Eyewear retail: Reframing the lens

Lenskart Solutions (LENSKART IN) has built one of India’s most differentiated retail models by creating a full-stack ecosystem around eyewear. It is set to emulate the trajectory of Titan’s jewelry business (Case Study #1), enabling it to compound market share growth over time and emerge as a category-defining leader, much like Tanishq in jewelry. LENSKART offers a combination of superior store economics (21%: FY26 SSSG; 68.9%: gross margin, ~10.3-month payback), capacity investment, and tech-led consumer experience. It has created a moat that would be difficult to replicate, making the business resistant to competition and hence, a structural compounder. Acquisitionswill improve ASP mix and product offerings, strengthening the retail model. Initiate with Buy for a TP of INR 615 (50x pre-IndAS FY28E EV/EBITDA). We model in 25% revenue CAGR and 38% EBITDA CAGR (pre-IndAS 116) in FY26-29E.

Best-in-class retail business model:

LENSKART’s store economics places it in a league of its own within India Retail. Unlike most retail formats that trade off growth for profitability, LENSKART has built a self-reinforcing retail flywheel, on:

(1) best-in-class revenue productivity amongst its peers (~INR 25-30,000/sqft),

(2) high gross margin given privatelabel-led model,

(3) industry-leading payback period (~10-12 months). The key differentiator is LENSKART’s ability to attract footfalls in stores, visible in strong SSSG of 20%. Note that Jubilant (JUBI IN) posted a sustained 20%+ SSSG in FY07-13 and expect LENSKART to have better potential, as importantly, revenue in both tier I and II markets is almost similar.

India’s vision care market Building a retail infrastructure:

LENSKART’s differentiation lies in its scalable entry funnel, anchored around free eye testing and tech investment for superior consumer experience. Its tech spend is at 1.7% of sales, comparable with Nykaa (a dominant online player). Its focus on eye testing with tech-led remote testing results enables large-scale testing at 600 tests per store per month. LENSKART aims to achieve 100mn eye test (23.7mn eye test in FY26). In parallel, backward integration has evolved beyond a cost lever to a strategic moat, enabling better product control, faster inventory turns, and next-day delivery across 78 cities, reinforcing both customer experience and margin resilience.

Acquisitions and international foray, a value-accretive and brand-building strategy:

ENSKART’s global acquisitions of eyewear brands – Owndays (2022) and Meller (2025) – provide immediate access to established premium markets, design capabilities, and highervalue customer segments. International markets contributed 42% of revenues as on FY26, with presence across 10+ countries and 600+ stores. International acquisition is not only growth-accretive but also value accretive through rise in ASP (average selling price).

Initiate with Buy for a TP of INR 615:

Integrated ecosystem and tech agility fortify LENSKART’s edge amid low competition, vast opportunity, and superior store economics. We assign 50x FY28E EV/EBITDA (pre-IndAS) for a TP of INR 615 given pre-IndAS EBITDA CAGR of 38% in FY26-29E. Key risks are flawed execution and inability to consistently deliver a superior consumer experience.

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