Lenskart picks up minority stake in US firm Ditto

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Sep 25, 2017

Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart will invest $1 million (approx Rs 6.5 crore) to pick up a minority stake in Ditto, a 3D eyewear virtual trial company based in California, said a top company official.

Lenskart is expecting its revenue to double from Rs 300 crore (approx $46.3 million) last year to Rs 600 crore (approx $92.5 million) in the financial year 2016-17. Apart from boosting its technology, the company plans to invest this year in offline expansion by adding 200 odd stores in tier II and III cities along with a manufacturing unit.
 
"Our focus is to be the largest technology focused eyewear company and make the online experience as much fun as the offline experience," Peyush Bansal was quoted as saying by the Times of India.

"It is sizeable funding for an early stage startup. We have been evaluating our relationship and now want to take it to the next level. Nobody in the world has a similar technology," Bansal said.
 
Bansal said that further integration will help the company enhance its social aspect where consumers can share how they look with the glasses on with their friends and relatives on social media.
 
Ditto, founded in 2011 by Dmitry Kornilov, Kate Endress, and Sergey Surkov, has so far raised $8 million.
 
Lenskart was founded in 2010 and is one India's fastest growing eyewear companies. It was one of the first online firms to try the offline route and currently has around 300 stores across the country.