Lenskart net loss increases by 78% during December 2016

By Raaghav G R

Posted on January 4, 2017

Lenskart Solutions Pvt. Ltd. was founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal. It is a Delhi – based company that sells spectacles, sunglasses, contact lenses and eyewear accessories. The company has a factory in Delhi that assembles spectacles, but it gets lenses for the spectacles from China, Italy, and North Korea among others. Lenskart’s net loss increased by 78% to Rs. 113 crores this quarter (third quarter (Q3), from December 2015 to February 2016) as compared to a net loss of Rs. 25 crores during the same quarter, last year (December 2014 to February 2015). This net loss is despite an increase of 63% in its revenues, to Rs. 99 crores this quarter. These figures indicate that the company is increasingly spending more to generate one unit of sales. Read more on Financial Losses

The company has also expanded into offline space through franchise stores. It now has 100 such stores across 66 cities in India. Lenskart witnessed its advertising and promotional expenses increase by 52% to Rs. 58 crores this quarter. In July 2015, Lenskart had founded its fully – owned subsidiary, Lenskart Eyetech Pvt. Ltd, through which it provided at – home eye checkup services. The subsidiary generated a net loss of Rs. 1.17 crores against revenue of just Rs. 40 lakhs. However, its founder, Peyush Bansal, recently stated that the company was looking to generate a net profit of Rs. 3000 crores by 2020. Lenskart has raised over US $120 million through funding since its inception in 2010.

Lenskart was formerly called Valyoo Technologies Pvt. Ltd and was founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal. The company sells spectacles, sunglasses, contact lenses and eyewear accessories. It has an assembling unit in Delhi but imports lenses from China, Italy and North Korea. Sale of spectacles contributes to 70% of the company’s revenue. The net loss posted by Lenskart shows just how fragile the Indian Startup ecosystem really is. Consumer e-commerce companies in India are characterized by high cash burn rates, where they give hefty discounts and advertise heavily to boost their sales and growth. Unfortunately, not many consumer e – commerce companies derive much profit from this strategy, leading to heavy financial losses. The Indian Government must spend more to incubate the Indian Startup Ecosystem. Read more on Startup News

Lenskart net loss increases by 78% during December 2016