Lenskart invests USD 4 million to expand John Jacobs brand stores

Online eyewear firm Lenskart today said it expects its affordable-premium eyewear brand John Jacobs to clock revenues of Rs 500 crore by FY21 as it expands the offline retail presence of the brand.

Lenskart is investing USD 4 million into the brand to set up more stores across cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai and in Delhi-NCR.

"India needs a premium brand for eyewear but one that is not extremely expensive. John Jacobs is a trendy designer eyewear brand, that is fast creating a name for representing top international styles at affordable prices," Lenskart founder and CEO Peyush Bansal told PTI.

John Jacobs currently has five stores, which will be increased to 20 this year, he added. "In the next 2-3 years, we are looking at 50-odd stores across tier I cities."

The brand is also being sold online on Lenskart's platform as well as 400 Lenskart retail points.

Bansal said the company is also looking at partnering with large format retail stores to sell the John Jacobs range.

"The eyewear market in India is a Rs 20,000 crore opportunity. Of this, sunglasses and contact lenses is about 4,000-5,000 crore," Bansal pointed out.

He said John Jacobs is already clocking revenues of about Rs 100 crore and should cross Rs 500 crore by FY2020-21.

Bansal said Lenskart has already invested about USD 1 million and the additional USD 4 million will be directed towards expansion of retail outlets and product range.

John Jacobs has teamed up with Italian design house – Mazzucchelli for material and design partnership. Its range is priced at Rs 3,500 onwards.