Mumbai, Aug. 3 -- As India's largest eyewear retailer prepares for a public listing, Lenskart is placing a sizable bet on physical retail in smaller cities and towns-banking on lower rents, brand white space, and early-mover advantage to offset rising lease liabilities and growing metro competition.

Offline retail now contributes around 75% of Lenskart's revenue, and store distribution has shifted in favour of smaller markets.

As of FY25, the company had 698 stores in tier‑2 and beyond, 469 in tier‑1 cities, and 900 in metros-categories defined separately in its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP). Metros include India's largest cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru; tier‑1 covers secondary but sizable cities lik...