Funeral Services

Funeral Services

Brief Excerpt from Industry Overview Chapter:

Companies in this industry conduct funerals and provide burial-related services. Major companies include Carriage Services, Everstory Partners, and Service Corporation International (all based in the US), along with Arbor Memorial (Canada), Dignity Funerals (UK), and Funespaña (Spain).

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand for services is driven mainly by local mortality rates and the population of aging people. The profitability of individual companies depends on sales and marketing and efficient operations, because local demand is relatively fixed. The main advantage of large companies is their ability to share resources (limos and hearses, embalmers, and marketing) among clusters of funeral homes. Small operators can compete successfully by developing superior local reputations. The US industry is fragmented: the 50 largest companies account for about 25% of industry revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Pre-burial services, which include embalming and cosmetic preparation, transportation, and memorial services, account for over 35% of revenue; sales of caskets for over 20% and grave plots for about 10%. Other sources of revenue include interment and sale of cemetery lots. Many funeral homes offer cremation services.