Mumbai: Lenskart Solutions make its debut on Monday, 10 November, opening at Rs 390 on the BSE—just under 3 percent below its IPO price of Rs 402. On the NSE, it started at Rs 395, slipping about 1.7 percent below the issue price. Honestly, this wasn’t what the market had hoped for. People tracking the grey market were expecting a listing jump of over 2 percent. Even the last grey market premium, around Rs 10, hinted at a 2.5 percent bump before trading began.
The IPO itself was huge—one of the biggest in India this year, raising a total of Rs 7,278 crore. Of that, Rs 2,150 crore was fresh capital; the rest came from existing shareholders selling their stakes. They’d set the price band at Rs 382 to Rs 402 a share. Demand was crazy: nearly 282 crore shares bid for, when only about 10 crore were on offer. That’s about 28 times subscribed. If you break it down, institutional investors piled in (40 times the shares available for them), non-institutional folks weren’t far behind (18 times), and even retail investors were in on the action, subscribing over 7 times what was offered.
So what happened? Even with all that hype, the stock’s debut shows investors aren’t throwing caution to the wind. Analysts have pointed out that Lenskart’s asking price was pretty ambitious, aiming for a valuation close to Rs 69,700 crore at the top end. Sure, they finally turned a profit in FY25—about Rs 297 crore after several loss-making years—but dig deeper and part of that turnaround came from one-off gains. That’s made people wonder: can Lenskart keep this up? There’s also the question of how they’ll manage big spending on store expansion and handle risks as they push further offline.
As for the money raised, Lenskart plans to open more company-owned stores across India, invest in tech and cloud systems, cover new store leases, boost its brand, and maybe even buy out other businesses. The company’s betting big on a mix of online and offline sales, plus international growth. But that means more spending and tougher competition.
Lenskart’s underwhelming listing shows that, even when retail investors are excited, the market is being careful about high valuations and execution risks. Going forward, everyone’s going to be watching how well Lenskart grows its profits, how its new stores perform, and how it navigates the fast-changing eyewear market at home and abroad.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not investment advice. Market investments carry risks. Readers should conduct their own research or consult financial advisors before making decisions.
