According to a release published in the Sarasota Business Observer, funeral professional Robert Toale and his family have joined the Dignity Memorial Network in Sarasota and Manatee Counties of Florida.  Again, according to the release, Dignity Memorial now has 2,000 funeral, cremation, and cemetery service providers in its network.  You can read the release here.

The release goes on to say that three funeral homes have also slightly changed their names and that two of the chapels will be renovated.

A statement attributed to Robert Toale said the following, “It’s an honor to be welcomed into the Dignity Memorial family in Sarasota and Manatee County.  The company’s history of service excellence and continued dedication to serving families with respect and integrity aligns with our family’s values.  We look forward to continuing our commitment to serve families with compassionate care.”

Funeral Director Daily take:  This news release is somewhat confusing to me as, from it, I cannot tell if the Toale family funeral homes kept local ownership and joined a trade group or if the funeral home businesses were acquired by Dignity Memorial owner Service Corporation International.  I actually checked the SCI corporate web-site for a release and verification but found nothing there in their news or the investor news.  For the sake of discussion, and from what I know of acquisition releases by family owned firms, I am assuming that this release is notice that the Toale family funeral homes have been acquired by SCI.

It leads to an interesting observation and comment.  Most businesses, I believe, benefit from a large, well known, national branding identity.  Acquisitions are re-branded to show the identity to the national brand.   However, I’ve always noticed that funeral service, because of its local connection to the families it serves, does best when consumers believe that they are being taken care of by the small, local brand.  It has been the preferred strategy of funeral service acquisition companies since the 1960s.

Service Corporation and other consolidators have done very well using the local brands and then building up national support networks for them.  However, as I’ve said before, I do believe that a national brand in the funeral home, cremation, green funeral, niche funeral service, or aqua cremation slices of funeral service is not far off.

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