India is a leading force in low cost eye care facilities but it wasn’t like this always. The medical survey of 1976 was the biggest turning point for the government as it recorded the biggest cause of blindness was cataract. This discovery made way for future endeavors as now the cross- subsidization model where the cost from wealthier patients is used to treat the financially deprived citizens.  

Eye care in India has now traveled a long way, Lenskart.com is a striking example of modern ophthalmology. It is an Indian brand focused on online manufacturing, collecting and dispatching available eyewear for a convenient selection at the doorstep. Lenskart is India’s largest online eyewear shopping store selling sunglasses, prescription glasses and contact lenses. Company aims to generate more funds from other stakeholders so they invest and expand in more cities.

In this article we are going learn in-depth about how to start a lenskart franchise in India.

History of Lenskart

It came into existence in November 2010, when a techie dedicated himself to bring a vision of turning the wheels in eye care history in India. The headquarters are located in New Delhi. Founded by Peyush Bansal, Amit Chaudhary and Sumeet Kapahi with an aim to give access to quality glasses without burning a large hole in the pocket.

They have made their reputation based on their E- Commerce sales, however they do own offline stores. First franchise store opened up in Chandigarh in 2014, since then more than 300 stores have started all over India where booking, placing order and delivery options are all done.  

Lenskart is first in its league to adopt an accessible channel of distribution from mobile phones to laptops. Slogan for the company is ‘Log on! Play on!’.

Lenskart’s USP

Their USP is their ability to solve problems creatively executing the business end by coming up with modern solutions that can make life better. They give 3D testing for the frames and glasses. This is a one of a kind modernity which is available in Eyewear, Sunglasses and Contact lenses. The range starts from 300 and goes up to 30,000.

Power of the glasses

The buyers also have the option of entering their power and browse through the glasses. They have to register to Lenskart and add the power. The whole idea is to blend vision and style.

The segregation

Lenskart provides a detailed division based on different preferences for genders, colours, sizes, powers, usage such as day to day use or day and night use, etc. They explain the components of the glasses, lens coating and type, face structures and types and which frame would suit each face.

Placing order

The first order is free on Lenskart, this attracts more customer interaction. Lenskart offers a wide range of brands such as Rayban, Tommy Hilfiger, Vogue, Fossil, Carrera and many more. Home trying is also available where personnel comes with a range of glasses and will showcase a set to the buyer, and it is not compulsory to buy them.

Benefits of owning a LensKart Franchise in India

The if’s and why’s of this brand is supported through their vision to revolutionize optical care and availability to everyone.

Brand support

There are training provisions for staff members regarding the new venture by experts. The staff themselves need to be well- trained in customer interaction.

Reputed brand

Lenskart has more than 200 successful partners and has backed up a strong hold in eyewear industry.

Establishing the franchise

Lenskart offers focused marketing and is easy to manage. Employee recruitment with locational and interior decoration support.

It also offers special programs for women entrepreneurs. It guarantees no stock risk investment.

Requirements to start a Lenskart Franchise in India

Area

The floor and carpet area should be close to 300- 500 square feet inclusive of a room to measure the power and make glasses. There should be enough space for small storage and a billing desk. The billing desk is not required to be separate, as long as the space is big enough to fit a computer it will suffice. There should be shelves fitted to the walls for an open display of the glasses. Prior selection of a property, whether on lease or purchase, conduct a survey for neighbouring localities.

Lenskart offers exclusive rights to the franchise outlet. The area should be big enough to display sections of the glasses, reserved for prescription glasses to fashion glasses. The store should be represented by the diverse options carefully stacked in their designated places, no one appreciates a shabby work space.

The biggest sectional tip would be to arrange glasses in designated places so that frames with rectangular and square rimmed glasses stay together, whereas other frames such as cat eye, round glasses and wayfarer stay in another section. Classification helps in neater display and exuded professionalism. Before setting up the franchise at a particular place you should ask yourself, is it profitable to rent out the area on a lease or buy it.

Skills required

The franchisee owner should possess entrepreneurial capacity, should be informed  and give their business utmost dedication. There is no part time business for an optical store, it should run at full time basis. There are no strict educational requirements, however a trained ophthalmologist is expected to be present for the home eye checkup and the making of prescription glasses and contact lenses.

For glasses there are specifications to be kept in mind such as the Abbe Value, Index Value, Radiation Transmission Level, etc to give quality product to the buyer and not giving a chance for faults. For lens, certain parameters such as Lens Brand, Corrective Strength, Cyl Axis and Power are to be properly assessed to create lenses suited to the buyer.

Any other skill that could prove developmental would be commitment to job and ethical values. Customer satisfaction and proper service will set a benchmark for others. Another speciality of Lenskart is their German based technology for making glasses, the idea behind these machinery is to reduce human error and create perfectly made glasses. This imported machines will examine lenses, and give an edge to the glasses.

Location availability

Lenskart has already opened up more than 300 outlets in all parts of India, so there should be no specific location advantage. There are outlets located in Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Assam, Mizoram, Punjab, Gujrat, Goa, Maharashtra, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Pondicherry, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttranchal, Nagaland, Odisha and many, many more.

However for success, the best places to open an optical store is near hospitals, eye clinics and neighbouring pharmacies. Also in highly populated surroundings such as markets, malls and localities. A proper check of the surrounding should be done to make sure the location yields best traffic for.

High commercial environments guarantee best results, also with the location the consumers also change. For instance in a posh mall, expected consumers are statistically more investing than any other place because of the fluid flow of people that malls have to offer.

Training

The training given to the staff is mandatory and covered by the company itself. Operating manuals are provided for training and monitoring purposes. The training will be conducted at the store outlet itself. It includes customer interaction, teaching sales and marketing, maintaining an accurate record of the sales and correctly measuring the power for the glasses.

The employees should know the current requirements of the customer and are expected to be well mannered and patient with them. Customers look for diversity in products and will not be interested if there is none, so the staff must keep in mind the budget and the frame preferences of the customer in check.

Staff requirements

To manage the store at least two to four people would be sufficient. The team of employees must include opticians if they are going for home eye checkup or Lenskart checkup. They should possess communication skills and should be responsive to the customers.

A buyer walks into the store anticipating quick yet proper service, and so the employees should be attentive and focused to the customer. There are gender and age based glasses for men, women and kids and staff is supposed to understand those concepts to generate better sale outputs. There will be occasions when a customer will select a frame based on their ‘likes’ but certain shapes are not necessarily suited to certain face structures. In such cases, the staff should be attentive and show frames that will actually look good on a person.

How much does it cost to start a LensKart Franchise in India?

Here comes the main part of the franchise, the entire investment plan. The cost of investment will be around 30- 35 lakhs. The land where the store will be located would cost around 10-15 lakhs, solely depending on the location of the outlet. The price may vary according to different states but the estimated number is given.  The most sold companies for Lenskart are Vincent Chase and John Jacob.

The glasses will get replaced every month to offer fresh stock to customers and will be going around to other outlets in rotation. Now the land if taken on rent, would cost around 10- 20 thousand each month according to the location. The electricity expenses will come over 3- 5 thousand per month. The furnishings and decorations will come up to 20- 25 thousand. The products in the very start will fall anywhere from 50,000 to 4,00,000 as some frames cost as near as 500 and some as far as 20,000.

Profitability of the venture has now seen another breakthrough as IFC, an associate of the World Bank Group is investing 400 crores to the Lenskart shares. Additionally Ratan Tata saw the potential in this E-Commerce chain and invested for the offline chains.

The eye check up available at the doorstep is available for online booking or by calling the number given online. The age group is from 12- 65 years and is currently available only for Delhi- NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Jaipur, Pune, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad.

Revenue Model of Lenskart

The revenue generation in Lenskart franchise provides low investment and high returns in business. The franchisee is booked to acquire 30 percent of the net sales with a break even period of 10- 15 months. Due to its great establishment in online and stores, Lenskart has earned a reputation for its unique approach to optical sales.

The company provides inventory refreshments each month, that means your stock will keep updating and there will be more range and less stagnation. There is zero dead stock. The franchise term is valid for five years and term is renewable.

Conclusion

Lenskart eliminates the middle chain of distribution linking the buyer and the seller together. The online shop features a backdrop of options where you can send in your resume and get enquiry for job offers. However, Lenskart does seem to have special offers for Vincent Chase and John Jacobs and needs to rope in other brands for the offers too. Buyers can place an order online and track their services through signing in.  

Future seems bright for Lenskart as it managed to become so successful by doing what seemed a little risky. They launched a website to try on and buy glasses from anywhere , that too in a time when people were skeptical about ordering food online. This leap of faith in was one of a kind success story that attracted shareholders such as Azim Premji’s Wipro to invest in Lenskart.

Lastly, the business end of Lenskart is organized and supplies modern solutions to online purchases.