Lenskart raises Rs.135 Cr funding from TPG Growth, TR Capital, shuts down Bagskart, Jewelskart & Watchkart

Lenskart, the Delhi based e-tailer of prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses and contact lenses, has raised Rs.135 Crore in fresh capital from new and existing investors.

Its series C fund-raising is a co-investment led by TPG Growth, with participation from Hong Kong based TR Capital and existing investor IDG Ventures for a significant minority stake.

The latest fund infusion is Lenkart’s largest since February 2013, when it raised Rs.53 Crore. from Ronnie Screwvala led Unilazer Ventures and IDG Ventures India.

It has so far raised almost Rs. 200 Crore of capital across three rounds.

In an important development, Vayloo Technologies which also used to run Jewelskart, Bagskart and Watchkart, has closed all three because of low traction and financial losses. Now, users trying to reach the other three karts get redirected to the Lenskart homepage.

Peyush Bansal, CEO & Founder, Lenskart commented: “In TPG, we found strategic partners and advisors with proven capability to build a large consumer centric enterprise. The TPG brand is another feather in our cap. With this new investment, we will be hiring the best talent and give them a world-class environment to innovate and solve India’s eyewear problems at a very large scale.”

Earlier in 2011 Lenskart had raised $4 million in the first round of funding from IDG Ventures India. At present, the company offers home eye check-up service in 7 cities with over 300 plus eye check ups every day at consumer’s houses. It also has click & mortar franchisee stores pan India as centers for people to get their eyes checked and book orders online as well as get their post sale adjustments done.

Speaking about the deal, Manas Tandon, Director, TPG Growth said: “TPG globally is an active investor in the Internet sector. We are excited about the evolution of Internet in India and are delighted to partner with Lenskart as our first investment in this space. The Lenskart team brings to the table an impressive focus on customer service and keen commercial instincts, thereby building a dominant position in the eyewear space, while maintaining attractive unit economics.”

Putting halt to all karts besides Lenskart makes a lot of sense to Vayloo as the company was struggling to find scale in jewllery, watch and bag verticals. The move will also help to reduce overheads and curtail workforce.