Lenskart Owns Japanese Eyewear Maker OWNDAYS

Lenskart, an Omnichannel eyewear brand, has bought a majority stake of OWNDAYS Japanese eyewear brand. Lenskart and OWNDAYS didn't disclose the financial details of this deal. Current shareholders of the Japanese eyewear brand include L Catterton Asia, Mitsui & Co. Principal Investment will be sold.

Faridabad's unicorn brand of eyewear will be Asia's biggest omnichannel, reaching 13 countries, including India and Japan. Lenskart acquired OWNDAYS' majority stake, but the merger was not intended. Both will continue to target the low-income segment while the former will focus on the premium segment.

Lenskart stated in a press release that OWNDAYS cofounders will remain shareholders. The management team will also continue to be led by Tanaka Shuji, CEO and co-founder of OWNDAYS, and Umiyama Take, COO.

Peyush Bansal, CEO of Lenskart Group and co-founder, said that "With OWNDAYS, we move a step closer to democratizing 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 with OWNDAYS. To bring about a revolutionary change such as the one the world needs in eyewear, we need to work with like-minded and complementary founders."

Shuji Tanaka, CEO of OWNDAYS, said that "I believe digital transformation is the key to our next phase of growth in the post-pandemic operating environment and I am excited to partner with Lenskart, which have deep expertise and intellectual capital in the information technology field."

OWNDAYS will be independent, the Indian unicorn added.