Funeral Director Daily
I received my Bachelor of Science degree in Mortuary Science in 1980 — in a class of about 40 males and one female. That is just the way it was. . .there were no young women going into the business at that time. Today, the mortuary science classes at my alma mater are about 70%…
Sometimes the way we communicate is overlooked and can, over time, creep costs upward and move operational productivity down at the same time. Things like internet services and the providers that we use need to be reviewed every so often. InvoCare, which operates 290 funeral locations and 16 cemeteries across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore…
Monday morning I received a call from a lady I know who works tirelessly with the community’s Junior Achievement organization. She mentioned that they were looking for some new board members and she wondered if I would be interested in serving. My first thought was, “I don’t need more board positions”. I’ve served on a…
Last week Canadian based public company funeral home and cemetery operator Park Lawn Corporation released its 3rd Quarter and 9-month results for 2019. You can see them here. The fast growing company reported 2019 3Q revenues of $66.5 million as compared to 2018 3rd Quarter revenues of $43.2 million. . .an increase of 54%. They…
I’ve been involved in the funeral business long enough to see the State of Minnesota move, in what I consider a more consumer friendly way, in respect to the business of preneed. I can go back to the 1980’s when we were only allowed to put a consumer’s designated funeral funds into a bank guaranteed…
Hillenbrand Industries, parent company of Batesville Casket company reported earlier this week that Batesville’s fiscal 4th Quarter sales (July, August, September) were essentially flat from the prior year. You can see Hillenbrand’s 4th Quarter and Year End report here. Hillenbrand Industries reported quarterly revenue of $486 million — an increase over 4Q 2018 of 2%. …
There are a lot of reasons that businesses, including funeral homes, change operational and ownership hands. Sometimes a single proprietor gets a price that he just can’t turn down. Sometimes a single proprietor just wants to retire and either has no family to go into the business or family that wants to pursue other goals…
StoneMor Partners L.P. reported their 3rd Quarter and 9-month 2019 numbers last week and with it showed significant progress in their attempt at a transformational turnaround of the company. In brief, StoneMor reported that revenues are stabilizing, that they are cutting recurring expenses, and that they have made progress on a divestiture process that will,…
National Geographic magazine published an article the other day that you can read here. It was published in their “Environment and Conservation” sector and is entitled, “The environmental toll of cremating the dead“. The article makes the statement that 78% of Brits are now cremated and in America, we have surpassed the number of burials…
