Indian Eyewear Giant Lenskart Acquires Majority Stake In Japanese Eyewear Brand Owndays

India’s largest eyewear company, Lenskart, has acquired a majority stake in Japan’s D2C eyewear brand Owndays for an estimated $400 million. The strategic partnership through this merger will help build Asia’s largest omni-channel eyewear retailer.

As a part of the deal, the majority shareholders of Owndays – L Catterton Asia and Mitsui & Co, Principal Investments – will sell their interests to Lenskart. However, Owndays co-founders CEO Shuji Tanaka and COO Take Umiyama, will continue to be shareholders and and continue to manage Owndays as an independent brand.

Lenskart has over 1,100 stores across India, Singapore, and Dubai while Owndays currently has a network of 460 stores across 13 countries and regions, including Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Taiwan, India, and the Middle East. Thus, with this acquisition Lenskart will expand its presence to 13 markets across Asia, including India, Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan, making it one of the largest players in Asia's online eyewear segment

Shuji Tanaka, Owndays founder and CEO, said, “I believe the most important point for Owndays to achieve further growth is the drastic DX (digital transformation). It is the key to our next phase of growth in the post-pandemic operating environment, and I am excited to partner with Lenskart, which has deep expertise and intellectual capital in the information technology field.”

Peyush Bansal, co-founder and group CEO at Lenskart, said, “In today’s age, the customer wants great products, great prices, and delightful experiences all the time. With Owndays, we move a step closer to democratising eyewear. I have known Shuji-san and Take-san for over five years and have been an admirer of the disruptive brand and customer experience they have built. There is much we can achieve together which will be greater than the sum of its parts.”

According to reports, Lenskart will continue its expansion in India and Southeast Asia as a mass-to-mid-premium brand while Owndays will be scaled as a premium brand.