Lenskart Signs MoU To Set Up Plant In Telangana

Lenskart Signs MoU To Set Up Manufacturing Unit In Telangana

SUMMARY

Telangana minister said that the new manufacturing unit will be set up at the Fab City and the land will be handed over to the company later this week

The plant will create around 2,100 jobs and there is a purported discussion around a R&D plant being set up, added Duddilla

The proposed facility will produce eyewear, lenses, sunglasses and other eyewear accessories for the Indian market as well as Southeast Asia and Middle East markets

Omnichannel eyewear unicorn LensKart has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to set up the “world’s largest eyewear manufacturing facility” in the state with a planned investment of INR 1,500 Cr.

“Very delighted to announce the signing of a MOU with @Lenskart_com today wherein Lenskart would be setting up the world’s largest Eyewear manufacturing facility in Telangana with an investment of around INR 1,500 Cr,” said Telangana IT Minister Sridhar Baby Duddilla in a post from X.

Duddilla said that the new manufacturing unit will be set up at the Fab City, adding that the land has already been identified and will be handed over to the company later this week.

Fab City is a special economic zone (SEZ) initially envisaged to promote the semiconductor industry in the state.

The state minister also said that the new facility will produce eyewear, lenses, sunglasses and other eyewear accessories for the Indian market and will also cater to Southeast Asia and Middle East markets.

“The plant will create around 2,100 jobs and there is a purported discussion around a R&D plant being set up,” added Duddilla in the post.

Notably, this comes nearly eight months after Lenskart cofounder Peyush Bansal, in a post on LinkedIn in April, noted that the company was looking for a space to build a ‘megafactory’ within 60 km of the International Airport at Bengaluru.

The unicorn has pushed the pedal on scaling up its manufacturing facilities with an eye on further entrenching itself in the eyewear value chain and trimming dependence on external players. What has helped the company undertake this mega exercise is the nearly $850 Mn that Lenskart raised from investors in 2023.

In 2024 so far, it has raised nearly $220 Mn from venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) firms. In November, it was reported that the Bansal-led unicorn’s valuation was slated to further rise to $6 Bn post a secondary share sale of $200 Mn to $300 Mn by its existing investors Fidelity, Kedaara Capital, among others.

Founded in 2010 by Bansal, Amit Chaudhary, Ramneek Khurana and Sumeet Kapahi, Lenskart is an omnichannel eyewear retailer with over 2,000 stores in India. It also operates in the UAE, Singapore and Japan with another 500 stores in these regions.

Lenskart managed to cut its loss by 84% to INR 10 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 64 cr in FY23. Operating revenue rose an impressive 43% to INR 5,427.7 Cr in the fiscal under review from INR 3,788 Cr in FY23.