Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC sees Lenskart as a potential major MNC from India: Harish Krishnan
Key Takeaways
- •Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC continues to hold Lenskart as a core portfolio position despite the stock's strong post-listing performance.
- •CIO Harish Krishnan said Lenskart has built a scaled, technology-driven consumer franchise in eyewear, a category historically dominated by unorganized players.
- •Lenskart has expanded beyond India into markets including Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and has invested in international eyewear-related businesses.
- •Lenskart was founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, listed on Indian exchanges in 2024, and is one of India's largest omnichannel eyewear retailers.
- •Krishnan's view reflects a broader theme among Indian fund managers of seeking domestic consumer brands capable of scaling globally, like earlier Indian multinationals in IT and pharmaceuticals.
Harish Krishnan, Chief Investment Officer – Equity at Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC, said the fund house continues to hold eyewear retailer Lenskart as a core portfolio position despite the stock's strong performance since its listing, arguing that the company has executed well and could emerge as a major multinational corporation built out of India.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Krishnan explained that Lenskart's appeal lies not only in its post-listing share-price trajectory but in the quality of its business execution. In his view, the company has built a scaled, technology-driven consumer franchise in eyewear — a category historically dominated by unorganized players — and has demonstrated the ability to expand its brand and operations beyond India's borders, a trait that positions it alongside Indian companies aspiring to global scale. The framing echoes a broader theme among Indian fund managers: identifying domestic consumer brands that, like earlier generations of Indian multinationals in IT and pharmaceuticals, can scale internationally rather than remaining reliant solely on the home market.
The comments came as part of a wider discussion on stock picking and market opportunities through a fund manager's lens, in which Krishnan outlined how Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC approaches identifying companies with durable competitive advantages and long growth runways.
Lenskart, founded in 2010 by Peyush Bansal, has grown into one of India's largest omnichannel eyewear retailers, selling prescription glasses, sunglasses and contact lenses through a mix of physical stores and its online platform. The company has expanded its footprint to markets beyond India, including Southeast Asia and the Middle East, and has also invested in adjacent eyewear and optical businesses internationally. It listed on the Indian stock exchanges in 2024 and has since been among the more closely watched new-age consumer listings, part of a wave of technology-backed consumer companies that have tapped the public markets in recent years. Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC is one of India's major asset management companies, operating as a joint venture between the Aditya Birla Group and Sun Life Financial of Canada.
Source: CNBC-TV18
