Lenskart-backed House of Brands Startup Neso Brands Invests $4Mn in Le Petit Lunetier Following the investment, Neso Brands' and Lenskart's operational teams will support the company across several areas to improve efficiency and growth
By S Shanthi
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Lenskart-backed house of brands startup Neso Brands, specializing in eyewear, announced today that it has acquired a significant stake in the Paris-based omnichannel eyewear brand, Le Petit Lunetier. The $ 4 million equity investment will be used to accelerate Le Petit Lunetier's retail expansion and solidify its brand presence in Europe, as well as introduce the brand to Lenskart's core markets in Asia and the Middle East.
Following the investment, Bjorn Bergstrom, CEO and co-founder of Neso Brands, and Peyush Bansal, co-founder of Neso Brands and CEO of the Lenskart Group, will join Le Petit Lunetier's board of directors.
Founded in 2015 by former Google and Rad.co executive Jérémie Encaoua and optician Elie Attias, Le Petit Lunetier is a direct-to-consumer eyewear brand which has a strong online presence in addition to its brick-and-mortar offerings. The brand operates 16 stores in France, including its new Paris store, and has experienced strong growth in recent years thanks to successful store network expansion in key locations throughout the country and a robust social media following. Up until now, the upstart brand has bootstrapped to profitability with no external equity investment.
Following the investment, Neso Brands' and Lenskart's operational teams will support the company across several areas to improve efficiency and growth. This includes rolling out predictive analytics technology throughout Le Petit Lunetier's retail stores powered by TangoEye, an Indian intelligence software company that is also part of the Neso portfolio. TangoEye's cloud-based retail analytics software leverages AI, computer vision and deep learning technology to enable high customer engagement and sale conversion in physical stores. The rollout will be led by the venture's dedicated in-house tech team and is part of the company's core strategy of building tech-augmented omnichannel brands.
Commenting on the investment in Le Petit Lunetier, Bjorn Bergstrom, CEO of Neso Brands, stated: "We are very excited to have Le Petit Lunetier join our portfolio of global brands and support its next phase of growth. This strategic investment marks our first foray into the European market and we are thrilled to begin this journey by working with Jérémie, Elie, and their leading BIZ Experiencesial team to grow the brand's potential, both across France and internationally. We are particularly excited to bring this vibrant brand to Lenskart's customers and have already seen a tremendous reception of the brand in India following a limited pilot launch in Delhi."
Jérémie Encaoua, co-founder of Le Petit Lunetier, commented: "We are proud to announce our partnership with Neso Brands. As an optician-founded business, our focus from day one has been to provide high-quality lenses paired with fashionable frames, packaged at accessible price points. We look forward to leveraging Neso Brands' deep operational expertise to further our company ambitions."
