Lenskart: business not impacted by FDI policy but government is not helping start-ups

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 14, 2019

The founder of the online eyewear platform Lenskart, Peyush Bansal, has assured that new foreign direct investment (FDI) norms will not affect his business model but criticised the government for making it hard for start-ups.

The Minister of Commerce Suresh Prabhu recently stating that there is “no confusion” over the FDI policy update disseminated by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) at the end of December. However, Lenskart’s CEO Bansal disagreed. Calling the policy “unclear”, he voiced his fears that it will harm start-ups. 

“They make policies which make life for startups difficult,” Bansal said, as reported by ET Bureau. “It is becoming more and more difficult for entrepreneurs like us to run businesses.”

Bansal assured that his business, however, will not be affected. Despite functioning as a multi-brand e-commerce marketplace, Lenskart is predominantly a manufacturer.

The DIPP FDI policy has banned platform operators from selling affiliate products and large vendors will be heavily regulated but Lenskart will avoid this regulation as it manufactures its glasses in India. The brand has a number of private labels such as Vincent Chase and John Jacobs which make up 95 percent of products on the marketplace. 

“In India laws are very funny,” opined Bansal. “We sell our own brands and Lenskart has created Vincent Chase, John Jacobs, Aqua lens... Because of the government’s nonclarity, even brands we have created are considered multi-brand retail.”

Lenskart, based in Faridabad, has a network of over 450 franchise outlets across India in over 100 cities. As well as its private labels, the brand also retails international labels such as Oakley, Fcuk, Ray-Ban, and Tommy Hilfiger.