The Chennai-based optical retail chain, Specsmakers Opticians has raised $ 10 million (approximately Rs 64 crore), in a funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures India. The funding round saw participation from existing investor Atma Ram Family Office and other individual investors. However, Fulcrum Ventures, an early investor of the startup, has reportedly made a partial exit with this deal. The terms of the investment funding have not been disclosed.

The company plans to utilize the funds to expand existing operations into other cities and to develop the optical chain into a national brand. “This investment will allow the company to replicate its successful strategy for Chennai and Bengaluru in other key cities, and become a national brand with deep store penetration,” said Pratik Shah, Chief Executive Officer of Specsmakers in a report by Economic Times.

The company was founded in 2011 and currently has over 110 stores operational in Chennai, Bengaluru, and Madurai. The company mainly retails eye-wear under its own name and currently has a customer base of 1 million. Sandeep Singh, a principal at Eight Venture will reportedly join the board of Specsmakers. He stated that the investment is to enable access to consumer health products across the country. “We are excited to partner with the company to increase access to quality prescription eye-wear products at affordable prices for Indian consumers,” he said. For the financial year 2015-16, the startup reported a 77% rise in revenues from Rs 11 crore from Rs 6.2 crore in the previous financial year, as per the data compiled by VCCEdge. It was also reported that in August earlier this year, the company had hired a banker to raise funds to the tune of $ 12 million.

(Picture courtesy: JustDial)