Lenskart acquires Owndays in $400Mn

Softbank-backed Lenskart has picked up a majority stake in Japanese direct-to-consumer eyewear brand Owndays. The strategic partnership will help in building Asia’s largest omni-channel eyewear retailer.

As part of the deal, the majority shareholders of Owndays – L Catterton Asia and Mitsui & Co, Principal Investments, will sell their stake to Lenskart. On completion of the purchase, Owndays will continue as a separate brand, targeting the premium segment, while Lenskart will focus on the middle and mass-market segments.

The acquisition will also expand Lenskart’s presence to 13 markets in Asia, including India, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan. Lenskart also plans to expand into the Middle East.

Peyush Bansal, Co-Founder and group CEO at Lenskart, said, “With Owndays, we move a step closer to democratising eyewear. I have known Shuji-san and Take-san for over five years and have been an admirer of the disruptive brand and customer experience they have built. There is much we can achieve together which will be greater than the sum of its parts.”

Lenskart ships over 10 million pairs of eyewear every year and has over 20 million app downloads, 300 home eye test representatives as well as over 1,100 stores across India, Singapore, and Dubai.

Shuji Tanaka, Owndays founder and CEO, said, “I believe digital transformation is the key to our next phase of growth in the post-pandemic operating environment, and I am excited to partner with Lenskart, which has deep expertise and intellectual capital in the information technology field.”