Lenskart raises funds from Premji Invest

Eye-wear e-tailer Lenskart has raised an undisclosed amount from Wipro’s family office Premji Invest. The transaction comes three months after it got Rs 400 crore, in a round led by International Finance Corp, the private sector investment arm of the World Bank.
With the fresh round of funds, the company aims to expand access to high-quality and affordable eye-care products across India.
Read: Lenskart Solutions gets funding from Ratan Tata
“With this collaboration, the company will be able to draw on Premji Invest’s extensive experience, particularly in retail and creating long lasting brands to realize its potential and develop best practices. We intend to grow strategically thereby strengthening our presence via both online and offline channels,” CEO and Founder, Lenskart, Peyush Bansal said in an official statement.
Founded in 2010 as an e-tailer, Lenskart follows O2O(Online to offline) model and has opened offline stores aswell. The company has grown 200 per cent annually for the last two years. It is present in over 100 stores across more than 66 cities in India.
Read: The O2O Retail Model: Will the reverse strategy work?
With this investment, Premji Invest joins other marquee investors like IFC (venture capital arm of World Bank), TPG Growth, IDG Ventures, Unilazer Ventures, Adveq on the company’s cap table.
Founder & Managing Director – IDG Ventures, TCM Sundaram, one of Lenskart’s key investors also opined, “IDG has been part of the Lenskart story since its early days. We continue to believe in Peyush’s and Lenkart’s vision to become the default eye-wear brand in India. Lenskart will be able to leverage Premji Invest’s expertise in consumer and retail sectors to fuel its future growth.”
Premji Invest has had a strong focus on consumer and retail brands and upholds the reputation of being a long term partner that supports founders and management teams of brands like FabIndia, Myntra, Future Lifestyle Fashions and Vasmol in expanding their portfolio, enabling business initiatives, supporting organic sustainability and driving strong governance.