Funeral Director Daily

Is this an opportunity?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 19, 2019 /

Like many of you who read Funeral Director Daily, I like being an amateur investor in the stock market.  Back in the 1980’s I read two books that have became my gospel for investing.  One of them was in the early 80’s and was a book by John Naisbitt entitled “Megatrends” and the second book…

Your firm and your pre-need partner

By Funeral Director Daily / August 16, 2019 /

I happened to drive by the Douglas County Fairgrounds earlier this week and notice that the fair was already upon us.  That signaled to me that the end of summer was not too far off and gave me an idea for writing a post about the fall season being a great time to capitalize on…

Cressy Memorial becomes first Funeral Director Daily sponsor

By Funeral Director Daily / August 16, 2019 /

Cressy Memorial, an Indiana based group that operates as a sales and marketing agency for industry manufacturers, has become the very first sponsor of Funeral Director Daily.  You can see a photo of one of their products, the Crowne Vault, in the upper right hand corner of every page of Funeral Director Daily. In 2006,…

InvoCare operating earnings decline

By Funeral Director Daily / August 15, 2019 /

InvoCare Limited, the largest public company in the death care space serving Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore reported half-year earnings which indicate that Operating Earnings after tax dropped 5.2% to AUS $22.3 million from last year’s AUS $23.6 million.  In somewhat of an interesting note, Net Profits increased 97% to AUS $41.4 million because of…

Arizona city to sell cemetery

By Funeral Director Daily / August 15, 2019 /

This is an interesting news story because it seems so many times we have published stories about cemeteries asking to be taken over by cities or other municipal agencies because they could no longer make a profit.  We noticed this story, that you can read here, about the City of Glendale, Arizona, planning to sell…

Public company notes. . .StoneMor, Park Lawn

By Funeral Director Daily / August 14, 2019 /

We noticed a couple of articles in the news or opinion sections today about death care public companies StoneMor Partners and Park Lawn Corporation and just thought we would pass them on. StoneMor Partners to eliminate 340 positions.  This article points out that StoneMor Partners will be targeting 340 positions as it attempts to eliminate…

How does your firm view pre-need?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 14, 2019 /

I wrote a story yesterday on the timing of advertising telling consumers about the benefits of pre-planning one’s own funeral or cremation services.  When I did that article I did not envision a follow-up or series of pre-need articles, but a day later here is another angle I have thought about often concerning pre-need and…

Park Lawn reports Q2 results

By Funeral Director Daily / August 13, 2019 /

Park Lawn Corporation (PLC), the Toronto based consolidator and operator of funeral homes and cemeteries reported their financial results for the 2nd Quarter of 2019, the period that ended June 30, 2019, yesterday.  You can see a short synopsis of the results in this press release. Park Lawn’s CEO Andrew Clark is quoted in the…

Have you planned your pre-need marketing?

By Funeral Director Daily / August 13, 2019 /

I noticed yesterday when I drove past the local fairgrounds that everything was getting set up for our county fair.  I then realized, wow, it is the middle of August and fair time already. For many of us in the upper midwest fair time signifies harvest and the start of another school year just around…

Death care and the (near term) changes coming

By Funeral Director Daily / August 12, 2019 /

We all know that over the long-term, such as the past 40 years between 1980 and now, change has occurred in the death care industry mainly by the advent of the almost universal acceptance of cremation.  Most funeral homes have been able to weather that storm by offering services for both types of choices in…