Business
I met John Adams, a past President of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) of Great Britain at the Baltimore NFDA Convention a few years back. We had randomly sat down at the same table in the concession area during the convention and just struck up a conversation. Since that time I’ve…
Last week I received this press release from Park Lawn Corporation titled “Park Lawn empowers key leaders to enhance the family experience and support growth”. While there is nothing particularly newsworthy in that title, publishing the press release gives me the ability to editorialize on what, for lack of a better title, I’ll call the…
I talk to a lot of funeral directors. Most understand the ramifications of raising their prices. However, sometimes it just needs to be done to stay profitable. . . . but in an inelastic market for different options of service, sometimes raising pricing reduces revenue coming in. It’s pretty simple to figure that out…
At the end of September public company funeral home and cemetery consolidator and operator Carriage Services made some moves that they hope will enhance their long-term flexibility. In essence, Carriage Services made this announcement that explains that they have upped their capacity for their Revolving Credit Facility from $250 million to a $300…
The movie Back in Black starring Christopher Walken recently celebrated its world premiere in September at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The movie stars Walken as Clyde Mortimer in what some reviews call a “dark comedy”. The premise, according to this article about the TIFF, is that Walken’s character “is the patriarch in…
I’ve had a lot of experience during my time as a Board member and Chairman of Senior Living companies extending “service lines” in order to build business. And, I think part of the future of Death Care will include present operating companies expanding “service lines” to become larger companies. In the Senior Living…
Acquisitions are big in Death Care. . . .and we are being told that with so many retiring funeral home owners. . . about to become bigger. If that is the case, we will have many people in our profession starting to ask the question, “How much is my funeral home worth”? I’ve…
Last week I wrote an article on how a changing consumer thought process, including the growth of Direct Cremation with No Services (DCNS), is affecting the business dynamics of traditional funeral homes. If you are one of the funeral homes being affected it is probably not a big consolation to you, but in…
It’s been over 20 years since the advent of Health Savings Accounts were swept into law during the George W. Bush administration. And, a bill (HR 2436) which moves them into the Death Care realm, which still sits in committee, was introduced into the U.S. Congress in 2025. That bill, introduced by Oklahoma Representative…
If you are a college football fan the argument over the last three years with the advent of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money, the open Transfer Portal, and the expansion of the major conferences is whether the Big Ten Conference or the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is now the dominant conference in college…
