The story
Founded by Lauri Rapala in 1936.1
1930–1950s: A family business
Rapala was founded in 1936 by Lauri Rapala. After having observed the habits of pike, Rapala noted that the fish would often target the slower and off-balanced prey fish. This observation led to the creation of the first Rapala lure, The Original. The lure was characterized by its slightly off-centred wobbling action, that imitated the movements of a wounded fish. Starting out as family business, Rapala was first catering to the needs of the local fishermen, with the family having to allocate time also to farming and fishing. Nevertheless, the word about the lures started getting around, and in 1938 a local co-operative store in Kalkkinen started selling Rapala lures, marking the first commercial breakthrough for the company. After the Winter War, and the Continuation War that followed, more time and effort was dedicated to the growing business. A shed was repurposed as a workshop, and Lauri's sons Risto and Ensio started helping with the manufacturing of the lures. The lures were now properly boxed, and a spinning wheel was fitted with sandpaper in order to bring mechanization into the process. In the 1950s, the lures were gaining in fame – to such an extent that the Rapala family decided to resign from commercial fishing and farm work in order to fully focus on the blossoming business.
1950–1960: International growth
In 1955, the first Rapala lures were exported to Sweden, with Norway following in 1956. In what turned out to be a decisive turn for the company, some of Rapala's lures made their way to the United States through the American embassy located in Helsinki, as well as the community of Finnish immigrants in America. These lures caught the attention of Ron Weber, owner of a fishing tackle sales company R. W. Weber Sales. Interested in distributing the lures, Weber and his business partner Raymond Ostrom contacted the Rapala family through the Finnish Trade Council in Chicago, and a business partnership was established – one that continues even today. Initially called The Rapala Company, Weber and Ostrom's company eventually changed its name to Normark. Business picked up rapidly, but the real turn was when an article about Rapala was published in Life magazine. Coincidentally, the article appeared in the issue that covered the death of Marilyn Monroe – the issue that went on to become the highest selling in the history of the magazine. The immense media exposure spiked the demand, leading the company to build their first factory in Vääksy, Finland in 1962. A second factory, situated in Riihilahti, followed in 1963.
1970–2000: Changes and diversification
In 1974, after the passing of Lauri Rapala, the company was passed on to his sons Risto, Esko and Ensio, who had all been involved in the company's business for a long time. It was during this time that Rapala was reformed into a limited company, Rapala Oy. In 1982, the company released the lure Shad Rap, which led to an immense rise in demand. The Shad Rap still remains one of the company's best-selling lures. In the beginning of the 1990s, Rapala acquired the distribution company Normark Scandinavia, marking a major expansion for the company. In 1995, the Rapala family sold Rapala's stocks to a new company founded by six members of the Rapala family, the management of the Rapala company, Bankers Trust and its subsidiaries and funds managed by CVC Capital Partners Europe. In 1999, Rapala acquired Storm Manufacturing Company, the plastic-lure manufacturer. This was the company's first major acquisition since the purchase of the Normark companies in the early 1990s. In 2000, the company successfully expanded into different fishing accessory products, including pliers, forceps, clippers, scales, hook removers and hook sharpeners. In November 2000, Rapala was approached by the French hook manufacturer VMC. The negotiation ended in Rapala purchasing VMC. As a result, the parent company's name shifted from Rapala to Rapala VMC OYJ, the name by which it is known today.
Present day and future
2005 marked a start for an era of strong growth for Rapala, with the company acquiring and establishing distribution companies in South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, China, Thailand and Switzerland. Furthermore, the company acquired the lure manufacturer Luhr Jensen in the USA, knife manufacturer Marttiini in Finland, fishing line supplier Tortue in France and cross-country ski manufacturer Peltonen in Finland. Thereafter, Rapala has established a lure factory and several distribution centers in Russia, a distribution company in Korea and acquired the Terminator spinner bait business in the USA. In 2016, Jorma Kasslin, who had acted as the CEO for the company since 1998, left the position and took position as the president chairman. Kasslin's position was filled by Jussi Ristimäki, the previous executive vice president of the company. In 2020, Nicolas Cederström Warchalowski was appointed as the new President and CEO of Rapala VMC. The company's latest acquisition took place in 2021 when Rapala purchased rights to the Okuma brand in Europe and Russia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Rapala, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4