It’s hard to think of a more legendary Finnish brand than Rapala. Rapala VMC Oyj was born from the ingenious insight of Lauri Rapala (1905-1974), who observed how injured small fish moved and attracted predatory fish. Working as a fisherman, Rapala began developing lures that mimicked the movements of preyed-upon fish. The first lures were sold at a local cooperative store in 1938.
By the 1950s, the lure business was large enough to support the entire Rapala family. The 1952 Helsinki Olympics marked a global breakthrough for Rapala, as their famous lures were sold to international visitors. The brand's fame grew, eventually gaining significant recognition with the help of none other than Marilyn Monroe. She appeared on the cover of the same Life magazine issue that featured an article on Rapala lures, making it Life's best-selling issue and helping Rapala cement its status as a fishing equipment legend.
Today, Rapala VMC is a multi-brand powerhouse, offering a wide range of fishing and outdoor gear, from rods, lures, and hooks to skis, knives, and augers.
The Rapala VMC 2024 Annual General Meeting
In 2024, Inderes helped Rapala transition their Annual General Meeting (AGM) to a fully virtual format. Previously, Rapala had held their AGMs traditionally, which consumed considerable time, money, and energy. The COVID-19 exception law made it possible for listed companies to organize general meetings virtually. After the pandemic, this law became permanent, giving companies the option to choose between virtual, hybrid, and classic general meetings.
The Challenge
Shifting from physical to digital environments is rarely painless. Senior stakeholders often prefer the face-to-face nature of physical meetings. However, traditional meetings rarely reach stakeholders who live far from the venue, thus limiting attendance.
Rapala was eager to understand how the transition would impact attendance and had concerns about how the video stream, voting technology, and other digital tools would function during the meeting. The AGM is a critical investor relations event for any company, leaving little room for error.
“It’s very convenient that we can do advance voting and bring it to a virtual setting. On one hand, it's quite easy to participate via a virtual remote connection, and on the other hand, we can avoid all the traditional meeting venue arrangements. So, in weighing those options, we ended up commissioning Inderes. The product convinced us.”
- Tuomo Leino, Head of Investor Relations, Rapala VMC
The Solution
The Inderes AGM service ranges from fully virtual to hybrid and classic general meetings. What sets Inderes apart from legacy providers is their ability to manage the entire legal and production process, allowing companies to focus solely on the meeting content—the message.
Inderes provided Rapala VMC with a fully virtual AGM solution, which included:
- Pre-voting
- Top-tier studio facilities
- Live stream production with a branded online event site
- A digital AGM platform with live voting and engagement tools
- Distribution through the Inderes platform
As a customer to Inderes’ investor page solution, all necessary documents, event stream links, and key information were automatically updated on Rapala VMC’s investor website.
Additionally, Rapala VMC's CEO’s review was freely distributed on the Inderes platform, attracting hundreds of viewers beyond the AGM attendees. This broader distribution helps engage a wider range of investors through the AGM.
“It’s eye-opening to see how much interest the company generates. As the AGM is meant to be an investor communication event, it’s great to extend its reach beyond just the meeting itself.”
- Tuomo Leino, Head of Investor Relations, Rapala VMC
As Leino acknowledges, the Inderes AGM solution relieves the company of manual labor, event production management, and legal complexities, allowing them to focus on running the meeting itself. Moving to a virtual format also enables the company to engage investors across different geographical areas.
"The meeting day and the entire process were very well organized, and I was really satisfied with both the preparation and the actual conduct of the meeting. This is certainly a very viable option for the future. I suspect this may partly replace the traditional general meeting, as it is much easier to organize in many ways."
Key Takeaways from the Rapala 2024 AGM
- Annual General Meeting attendance remained consistent with previous physical meetings, despite initial concerns about the shift to virtual affecting participation.
- The arrangement, along with Inderes’ legal expertise, allowed the company to focus on relevant matters, leaving the "boring stuff" for Inderes.
- Extended distribution of the CEO’s review provided an opportunity to reach a wider investor audience.
Learn more about the Inderes AGM services here.
