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Swedish-led, Singapore-based Neso Brands, part of the Lenskart Group, has acquired a significant stake in Paris-based omnichannel eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier after investing 4 million US dollars.
The investment marks Neso Brand’s first in Europe and marks a major milestone venture as it continues to strengthen its portfolio of international brands, adding Le Petit Lunetier to its portfolio, which includes Japanese eyewear brand Owndays, as well as intelligence software companies TangoEye and GeoIQ.
In a statement, Neso Brands said that the 4 million US dollars will accelerate Le Petit Lunetier’s expansion and solidify its brand presence in France and Europe, as well as introduce the brand to Neso Brands’ core markets in Asia and the Middle East.
Headquartered in Paris, Le Petit Lunetier is a direct-to-consumer eyewear brand and licensed optician chain founded in 2015 by former Google and Rad.co executive Jérémie Encaoua and optician Elie Attias. The brand offers fashionable affordable eyewear and has a strong online presence, alongside 16 stores in France, including a new location in Paris.
Jérémie Encaoua, co-founder of Le Petit Lunetier, said: “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.”
Neso Brands acquires significant stake in Le Petit Lunetier
Commenting on its investment in Le Petit Lunetier, Bjorn Bergstrom, chief executive of Neso Brands, added: “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 entrepreneurial team to grow the brand’s potential, both across France and internationally.”
Following the investment, Neso Brands said its operational team will support the French eyewear label 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 intelligence software company, also part of the Neso Brands 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 Neso Brands’ dedicated in-house tech team and is part of the company’s core strategy of building tech-augmented omnichannel brands.
In addition, Bergstrom and Peyush Bansal, co-founder of Neso Brands and chief executive of the Lenskart Group, will join Le Petit Lunetier’s board of directors.
Neso Brands plots international expansion of Le Petit Lunetier
Neso Brands adds that the investment is part of its plans to build a global house of brands within the eyewear sector, adding to Owndays, the direct-to-consumer eyewear retailer, which operates more than 500 stores across 13 markets ranging from Sydney to Dubai.
As part of the Lenskart Group, Neso Brands brings not just capital but also manufacturing capabilities, technology and distribution support to its portfolio companies. For instance, portfolio brands have access to a proprietary network of more than 2,000 stores across Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, as well as supply chain synergies via the world’s largest fully automated eyewear plant outside Delhi in India. The new factory was officially inaugurated last month.
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