Rapala less susceptible to trade tariffs says new CEO

The new head of the Rapala VMC Corporation believes that the varied locations of its manufacturing bases across the globe makes it less susceptible to the trade tariffs.

Cyrille Viellard, who took over as CEO and President of the Finnish-based tackle giant, told investors at the end of its presentation of accounts last week that Rapala is very closely monitoring the situation following the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House and his implementation of tariffs on trading partners across the world..

“Rapala has very varied supply manufacturing bases in Europe, Vietnam, Taiwan and China which gives us the opportunity to hedge the risks and we are already looking at that.

“We are discussing what options are possible with our suppliers and customers. Our exposure feels less than others on account of our diverse sourcing base.”

Viellard added that tackle suppliers which are highly exposed to China will have to increase their prices. “As with all industries, companies in that situation who are not ready to take the pain will have to pass it on.”

Viellard took over at the helm of Rapala VMC following the retirement of Lars Ollberg and told those at a conference call that we is ‘prudently optimistic’ about the future and that the business was headed in the right direction.

He was speaking after Rapala announced nets sales of €220.9m for the year ended December 2024, close to the €221.6m of the previous year. “We are well set up. We know our strength and our balance sheet situation.”

He also had a message for its business partners. “We will keep our word -that is our message from the new CEO.”