Lenskart Has 10,000-Store Headroom, Global Expansion in Sight; Nomura Initiates With ‘Buy’
Lenskart Solutions has attracted fresh bullish attention from global brokerage Nomura, which has initiated coverage on the eyewear retailer with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of ₹888 per share. Based on the stock’s recent closing level, the target indicates potential upside of roughly 40%.
The call comes after a strong run in Lenskart shares and a large institutional block deal last week. Nomura’s thesis, however, goes beyond near-term stock momentum. The brokerage believes the company is still in the relatively early stages of a much larger retail and international expansion opportunity.
The key attraction is simple: Lenskart may have far more room to add stores in India than the current network suggests.
Why Nomura is bullish on Lenskart
Nomura describes Lenskart as a business that has moved from being a challenger to becoming a market leader in India's eyewear segment.
The brokerage points to several elements of the company's model, including centralised manufacturing, remote optometry, technology-led store expansion and an asset-light retail format. These have helped Lenskart build a scalable business in a market that remains highly fragmented.
India's eyewear market also remains significantly underpenetrated. Nomura estimates that around two-thirds of the population does not adequately address its need for vision correction, creating a large potential customer base.
That gives Lenskart two growth levers: selling eyewear to more customers and increasing the value of purchases through premium products.
10,000-plus store opportunity could be the bigger story
One of the most important points in Nomura's report is the potential for more than 10,000 Lenskart stores in India.
According to the brokerage, the company has identified more than 6,000 pincodes where additional stores can potentially be established, while only around 5% of that opportunity has been addressed.
Lenskart's own recent commentary also supports the broad expansion thesis. During its post-results analyst interaction, the company highlighted significant headroom in international markets and plans to accelerate overseas store additions.
This is important for investors because store expansion is not simply about increasing the number of outlets. Each new store potentially adds customers, increases brand visibility and creates opportunities to sell higher-value lenses and eyewear.
In smaller Indian cities and towns, the opportunity could be particularly significant as organised optical retail expands.
International expansion adds another growth engine
Nomura's bullish case is not limited to India.
Lenskart has expanded into markets including Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Its corporate profile lists operations across countries such as Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Nomura sees different opportunities across these geographies. Singapore is already an organised prescription-eyewear market, while Japan and Thailand offer opportunities to scale through Lenskart's existing presence and Owndays platform. The brokerage also highlighted expansion potential in Saudi Arabia and the wider West Asian market.
The strategy is not necessarily to copy India's model exactly. Lenskart has indicated that it is adapting products, pricing, store formats and marketing to individual international markets while replicating elements of its technology and operating model.
That could eventually make international operations a more meaningful contributor to the company's growth.
Profitability is becoming an important part of the story
For a high-growth retail company, revenue and store expansion alone are not enough. Investors eventually want to see whether that growth translates into sustainable profits.
That is where Lenskart's recent financial performance has strengthened the bullish argument.
For the quarter ended June 2026, Lenskart reported a 182% year-on-year increase in profit to ₹228 crore, while revenue grew 34% and EBITDA increased 61%, according to market reports.
The improvement has also attracted attention from other brokerages.
ICICI Securities initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a ₹750 target earlier in August, citing store expansion, premiumisation and international scaling.
This suggests that the market's debate is gradually shifting from whether Lenskart can grow to how much growth is already reflected in its valuation.
Premium eyewear could improve the business mix
Another long-term opportunity is premiumisation.
Premiumisation means customers increasingly choose higher-priced products rather than simply buying the cheapest available option. In eyewear, this can include progressive lenses, premium frames and specialised products.
Lenskart has been expanding its premium lens and eyewear offerings, while its international brands and acquisitions provide access to different customer segments.
The company's recent earnings commentary indicated that premium products are becoming an increasingly important part of its portfolio, while management continues to see substantial opportunity in the premium lens category.
If premiumisation continues alongside store growth, Lenskart could potentially increase revenue per customer without relying entirely on adding new outlets.
Recent institutional activity adds another angle
Lenskart shares have already delivered a strong return in 2026. The stock gained more than 45% year-to-date as of August 28, according to Economic Times.
On August 28, shares worth about ₹1,857 crore changed hands through block deals at ₹630 per share. Several large institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund, were among the reported buyers, while Alpha Wave exited its position.
This does not automatically mean the stock will rise. Block deals can have multiple motivations, including portfolio rebalancing and exits by existing investors. Still, the participation of large institutions shows that Lenskart remains firmly on the radar of professional investors.
The key risk: valuation
The biggest issue for investors is not whether Lenskart has a growth story. It clearly does.
The question is how much of that future growth is already priced into the stock.
Lenskart has already performed strongly, meaning expectations are high. If store additions slow, international expansion takes longer than expected, margins disappoint or consumer demand weakens, the valuation could come under pressure.
The company also faces execution risks across multiple countries. Retail economics, competition, regulations, consumer preferences and currency movements differ significantly between markets.
Therefore, Nomura's ₹888 target should be viewed as a brokerage forecast, not a guaranteed future price.
What investors should watch next
For investors tracking Lenskart share price, several indicators could become increasingly important:
- India store additions and sales growth
- Same-store sales growth
- International store expansion
- Profit and EBITDA margin trends
- Premium lens and eyewear adoption
- Performance of Owndays and other international businesses
- Cash generation and capital allocation
- Valuation compared with earnings growth
The company's ability to expand without sacrificing returns at the store level will be particularly important.
Bottom line
Nomura's bullish Lenskart call rests on more than a near-term stock rally. The brokerage sees a potential 10,000-plus-store opportunity in India, additional international expansion and further room for margin improvement as the business scales.
At the same time, investors should remember that strong growth expectations can already be reflected in a stock's valuation. The ₹888 Nomura target represents a potential upside scenario, not a certainty.
For Lenskart, the next phase of the story will be about converting its huge store opportunity and international ambitions into sustained revenue growth, stronger profitability and healthy cash generation.
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This article is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice
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