Taking charge of the narrative

THE SHARP ONLINE chatter around Lenskart Solutions’ nearly ¢7,300-crore IPO has thrown up a deeper question for modern consumer brands: Can a financial event meant for investors end up reshaping brand perception, albeit momentarily? Debates over its valuation, discounted listing and “tech-first” identity spilled from social platforms such as X, Reddit and Instagram into mainstream feeds.

- GEETIKA SRIVASTAVA

IPO chatter is typically an investor conversation, yet when the criticism is loud, snarky and meme-driven, it can colour consumer perception.

This dynamic is not new. Paytm’s listing briefly recast it, in public discourse, from friendly fintech pioneer to an “overvalued loss-maker”; Zomato spent its early listed months fighting the “perpetually loss-making” tag; and WeWork became, in popular imagination, “a real estate leasing company disguised as a tech firm”.