Lenskart targets 10 crore eyewear units annually in India; makes blue-light lenses standard

Lenskart is targeting to scale its annual eyewear volumes in India from 3.2 crore units currently to 10 crore units, as the eyewear retailer looks to expand its market reach through greater affordability and wider access to vision care. Marking one year since its stock market listing, the company has announced two initiatives: making blue-light filtering lenses standard on its glasses in India and offering free prescription eyewear to 1 lakh children on Children's Day. 

In an anniversary message shared on LinkedIn, Peyush Bansal, co-founder and CEO of Lenskart, said the company had built a ₹10,000-crore business, but its larger objective of making quality vision care accessible to more Indians remained unfinished. 

The company currently serves around 3.2 crore eyewear units annually in India and sees 10 crore units a year as its next growth milestone. Its broader ambition is to help 1 billion people see clearly. 

Blue-light lenses to come without additional charge 

Effective November 12, Lenskart has made blue-light filtering lenses standard on its glasses in India, doing away with the additional charge previously levied for the feature. 

Bansal said the decision followed customer feedback that parents often opted for regular lenses instead of blue-light filtering lenses for their children's first pair of glasses because of the additional cost. "From today, blue-light filtering lenses come as standard on our glasses in India. No extra line on the bill. The upsell is over," he said. 

The company said close to a billion Indians now spend a significant part of their day looking at screens, with children using phones for homework and entertainment and adults relying on digital devices for work. Lenskart believes screen-ready eyewear should not be positioned as a premium upgrade. 

Free prescription glasses for 1 lakh children 

As part of its Children's Day initiative on November 14, Lenskart will provide free prescription glasses, including blue-light filtering lenses, to the first 1 lakh eligible orders placed at its stores across India. The programme is open to children aged 5–12 years and covers selected frames. 

Families will have to pay only ₹199 towards fitting charges, while the frames and prescription lenses will be free. Children aged 8–12 can also avail of a free eye test at Lenskart stores, while children below eight will need a prescription from an eye doctor. 

Explaining the rationale behind the initiative, Bansal cited the case of an 11-year-old girl who visited one of the company's stores for her first eye test. Her eyesight was found to be minus six, and she had been struggling academically because of an undiagnosed vision problem.  Bansal said such instances had reinforced the need to make eye care more accessible, particularly for children whose vision problems often go unnoticed. 

Focus on affordability and manufacturing capabilities 

Bansal said Lenskart's investments in product innovation and manufacturing were aimed at making eyewear more affordable over the long term. These include developing break-resistant rimless glasses, investing in lens coatings and Japanese resin technology, and building capabilities to manufacture progressive lenses in India. 

The company also said it had spent years developing the technology to manufacture progressive lenses domestically, with the objective of making a complete pair of glasses available at ₹500. 

According to Bansal, the company's growth and profitability should go hand in hand with its larger objective of improving access to vision care. "Purpose and profit are not a trade-off. In the short term, the right thing for the customer rarely looks like the obvious decision. In the long term, it has worked out every single time," he added.