Hillenbrand announced earnings for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (three months ended December 31, 2017). The company’s Batesville casket business had a 2% decline in revenue and a 3% decline in EBIDTA (earnings before interest depreciation and amortization). You can download the earnings slides here. You can read the Seeking Alpha earnings call…
Alva Review Courier reports that there is a shortage of funeral directors in Oklahoma. 36,000 people die annually and the number of licensed funeral directors, embalmers, student apprentices and funeral homes have declined. The Director of the State’s funeral board wants to streamline the process of certifying funeral directors. The Lacrosse Tribune says that dogs…
Quad-City Times reports that Weerts Funeral Home has been sold to Service Corp International. Weerts was founded in 1909 and adquired by David Deuth from Jim Weerts in 2005. The firm developed a state of the art cremation center in 2012. Service Corp International owns and operates 2,000 funeral homes and cemeteries in North America.
Motif Investing is bullish in the funeral industry for two reasons: aging baby boomers will increase the demand for funerals and cremations between now and 2036; and 80% of funeral providers are private which provides room for consolidation.
Matthews International announced revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 (3 months ended December 31, 2016). You can read the earnings release here and the Seeking Alpha earnings call transcript here. Funeral Director Daily will focus on the performance of the company’s memorialization segment which produces headstones, caskets and urns. Memorialization sales declined…
BUSINESS
Mapping Your Customer Journey: A Visual Tool for Deathcare Marketing
Editor’s Note: Today Welton Hong, CEO and founder of RingRing Marketing takes over the pen and gives us some valuable advice on Deathcare marketing. His article begins right here: When was the…
This reminds me of the funerals that I used to see
This article that was first published in the Los Angeles Times begins “It was standing-room only in the cavernous Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where the funeral Mass for Bishop…
It’s not just the big guys making acquisitions
As small town funeral home operators we many times look at the acquisitions of the big public companies or the regional consolidators with a little envy about being able to do that ourselves. We…
FINANCE
Banking and Death Care
The last ten days or so most of America, and the rest of the civilized world, has wondered about the safety of the banking industry. As this is being written on Friday, March…
It’s not just the big guys making acquisitions
As small town funeral home operators we many times look at the acquisitions of the big public companies or the regional consolidators with a little envy about being able to do that ourselves. We…
Seeking Alpha opines on SCI, Carriage Services, and Park Lawn Corporation
When it comes to the five remaining public company stocks that make up the Funeral Director Daily Death Care Index (DCI) we have heard from four of them as to their Quarter ending on…
REGULATIONS
This reminds me of the funerals that I used to see
This article that was first published in the Los Angeles Times begins “It was standing-room only in the cavernous Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where the funeral Mass for Bishop…
Banking and Death Care
The last ten days or so most of America, and the rest of the civilized world, has wondered about the safety of the banking industry. As this is being written on Friday, March…
What’s with “Excess Deaths”?
This is one of those articles that I will write that probably has no answers. It only brings up questions. That question today is “What’s with Excess Deaths”? When the pandemic hit…
CEMETERY
In Memoriam: Robert Waltrip, SCI founder — Services today
Robert L. Waltrip, age 92, founder of death care company Service Corporation International, died on Monday, February 27, 2023. A Celebration of Life service is scheduled for today (March 2). Interment…
Bucking the trend
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated” is a popular misquote attributed to author Samuel Clemens, known by his pen name, Mark Twain. However, that quote has stayed with Clemens (Twain) forever…
The interesting ownership of New York’s Pinelawn Cemetery
I live in flyover country so I don’t pretend to be an expert on the customs and traditions of New York’s funeral and cemetery business. However, I’ve been in the death care business my entire…
CREMATION
Cremation — already the “New Tradition”
It’s no secret that as a percentage of dispositions, cremation continues to grow. This article from Forbes entitled “Cremation is gaining popularity as funeral costs rise” gives that indication and their thoughts on why…
More Jewish families opting for cremation
I’ll be the first to tell you that I’m certainly not an expert on the subject of faith preference and burial customs because the community that I served was, I’m guessing, at least 95%…
CANA announces “First-of-its-Kind” credential for Cremation Specialist
The Cremation Association of North America (CANA) has developed an all new program to train cremation specialists. The first class begins in January 2023 and registration begins today. The following is complete information from CANA:…
PRENEED
You can design your own casket
Last week I had a two hour drive and set my radio to a station on Sirius that featured a news talk show. What was highly unusual was that the group of…
Preneed to Millennials. . .Maybe so
Editor’s Note: This article was scheduled for earlier this morning but for some reason was not picked up by our email subscription service. . .Well, better late than never. Sorry for the inconvenience. Here…
When is the right age to establish a preneed account? . . . Maybe on your wedding day
We’ve touched on the subject in this forum before — when is the proper age, as a consumer, to look into getting a preneed funeral/cremation account? I’ve opined that our funeral home used to…
PRODUCTS
This reminds me of the funerals that I used to see
This article that was first published in the Los Angeles Times begins “It was standing-room only in the cavernous Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, where the funeral Mass for Bishop…
Banking and Death Care
The last ten days or so most of America, and the rest of the civilized world, has wondered about the safety of the banking industry. As this is being written on Friday, March…
Care for the Dead. . .Comfort for the Grieving
It’s not every day that you turn to the magazine Popular Mechanics to find an article about the Death Care profession. However, that is exactly where I found this article about “Have trocar…
