Lentesplus looks to become the leading digital eyecare player in LATAM, backed by a world category leader

Roger Hardy, optical category leader and veteran in the eyecare business, is backing Lentesplus to boost its transformation from contact lenses digital pure player to omnichannel eyecare player providing glasses and optical services.

SÃO PAULO, April 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Roger Hardy, who has successfully built 2 multibillion dollar companies in the eye care sector in North America, is backing the Lentesplus team to undertake this new opportunity leveraging his vision and experience in the industry.

Hardy is the current CEO and founder of kits.com, a leading online eyecare player for North America. His entrepreneurial journey began much earlier with Coastal.com which became the largest eyewear retailer on the planet, being the first to sell over 1 million pairs of eyewear online back in 2010. After an IPO on Nasdaq, Roger sold the company to the Essilor group for US$450 million. This transaction was at the time Canada's largest e-commerce exit.

Today, in addition to running kits.com and managing the Hardy Family Foundation, a philanthropic institution designed to help the Canadian community, Roger also invests in fast-growing companies and sectors that are promising to achieve leadership positions in the market through his family office Hardy Capital.

Lentesplus.com is the leading online eyecare player in Latin America. Founded by two friends and now co-founders, Jaime Oriol and Diego Mariño, who met while studying for an MBA at the University of Wharton, saw a great opportunity to disrupt the eyecare industry in LATAM where there are more than 360 million possible customers.

Lentesplus' mission is to democratize and facilitate access to visual healthcare. The current market is estimated at 11 Bn USD and is expected to grow to +15 Bn USD by 2027. Growth is driven by a combination of (i) increased aging population, (ii) increased disposable income and (iii) increased awareness of visual correction problems. In addition, adoption of new technologies, such as smartphones and laptops, are currently deteriorating eye care health and will further drive demand growth

Already present in Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Argentina, Lentesplus recently acquired the leading independent online contact lens player in Brazil, Newlentes, effectively doubling Lentesplus' addressable market.

Lentesplus is now at the forefront of the eye care market consolidation in Latam. Its eyeglasses sales, both digital and in optical stores, are growing 4x month over month. Furthermore, new top and highly seasoned professionals of the industry are joining the team.

Hardy's joining Lentesplus is crucial to the company's aggressive and ambitious growth plans. "Latin America is an explosive market undergoing large secular change in the optical category. We are excited to be joining with the Lentesplus team as investors and believe that my experience and the expansion force of Jaime and Diego will contribute to the democratization of eye health and accelerated growth of the company creating a leader in this part of the globe", said Hardy.

According to Jaime Oriol and Diego Mariño, the arrival of Hardy consolidates the growth plans, as the company will be supported by a shareholder of great impact that has vast knowledge of the optical market.

Lentesplus shareholders include Ignia, Palm Drive Capital, Alumni Ventures, Stella Maris, Empire Group and Digital Garage Ventures.

SOURCE Lentesplus