Today we’re going to talk about an item that about half of the world’s population might need to wear by 2050. 

You might have the answer already – that is glasses. According to a 2017 article by the World Economic Forum, half of the global population could be shortsighted by the middle of the century, an increase of over a third on 2017 figures. 

And that presents business opportunities for our guest Lenskart, which operates over 1,500 omnichannel eyewear stores across 175 cities in India, Singapore and Dubai.

Just to give you a sense of where things are at for the firm, Lenskart is delivering 10 million spectacles a year to people in India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East as of 2021, with the aim to deliver a billion pairs of spectacles over the next 10 years. 

Given the goal, it is no wonder that the firm is expanding rapidly of late. It acquired a majority stake in Japanese eyewear brand Owndays in June 2022. 

That’s in a deal that is said to value Owndays at a whopping US$400 million. But what is the strategic value brought about by Owndays though?

On the organic expansion front, the Softbank-backed retailer said in December that it intends to open 300 to 400 stores in Southeast Asia over the next two years. 

But where will Lenskart be focusing on as a start and what role will the Singapore market play in the bigger scheme of things? How does Lenskart intend to fund its growing ambitions?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Peyush Bansal, Co-founder, CEO, Lenskart.