Eyewear Brand Specsmakers Bags Funding From Eight Roads To Boost Digital Play

Brick-and-mortar optical chains Specsmakers, on Tuesday (July 11), announced that it has raised INR 23 Cr in funding from existing investor Eight Roads Ventures last month as a part of an internal round.

The company plans to use this funding to create an omni-channel present and focus on building the digital and technological capabilities of the ecommerce business. The company plans to focus extensively on the online-to-offline model while adding stores in new geographies.

Eight Roads Venture had first invested in Specsmakers’ $10 Mn Series A round raised in December 2017. Atma Ram Family Office and other individual investors had also participated in the round, whereas Fulcrum Venture made a partial exit with this deal.

Commenting on the latest funding, Eight Roads Ventures’ Ashish Venkataramani, said, “Daily retail sales are back to pre-Covid levels due to Specsmakers’ unique strategy of accessible, neighborhood stores, coupled with proactive scheduling of eye tests to maintain social distancing. The recent online initiatives have unlocked new channels for continued growth.”

Founded in 2011 by Pratik Shah, Specsmakers is an optical retail chain with over 260 stories across 30 cities in South India. Earlier this year, the company also launched its digital store to reach out to the customers during Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown. The company has noted a 300% hike in the orders placed on its online stores after the lockdown was lifted.

Pratik Shah, CEO and founder of Specsmakers, said, “Like most other companies, these last few months has forced us to rethink the way we do things and quickly adapt to the new normal. Launching our online store and thinking of ways to make our customers lives easier and more convenient has helped us to stay true to the ethos of the brand – providing consumers with affordable, high quality, trustworthy optical products that are easily accessible.”

Specsmakers, in its recent statement, highlighted that it has seen a compound annual growth rate of 50% with growth in FY20 being 55%. The company competes with Delhi-based eyewear startup Lenskart, which too has set its mark in both online and offline space. Lenskart manufactures, assembles, distributes, and supplies its products across 460 stores across India.

Lenskart counts SoftBank Vision Fund II as its investor, along with Kedaara Capital, Unilazer Ventures, PremjiInvest, TPG Growth, IFC Venture Capital, Chiratae Ventures, among others.