In 2015, Bloomberg Businessweek published a feature story on the U.S. casket trade highlighting it as one of the last standing industries of U.S. manufactured products that has not fallen to Chinese imports. In 2005, Jim Malamas was one of the first to enter the imported casket business with his company ACE caskets. Malamas was acting on what he saw as an opportunity to capitalize on the inevitable fate of casket manufacturing going overseas. Since the start of ACE Caskets, Malamas has had a difficult path to moving in on marketshare. One of the biggest blocks has been the sturdy infrastructure of Big Casket. Deathcare’s Big Two—Batesville and Matthews Aurora Funeral Solutions—control 70 percent of the funeral merchandise market. U.S. caskets alone are a $1.6 billion business. Historically, the Big Two have been committed to providing U.S, manufactured caskets, although now they have some manufacturing in Mexico. They sell U.S. manufactured products to funeral homes for up to $1,500, while a nearly identical foreign model sells for as little as $408. Low-cost overseas manufacturing is an obvious threat to their longstanding business model. But, caskets are still holding out for domestic manufacturing with imports making up only about 5% of total caskets sold in the U.S. “The funeral industry has had a goddamn easy ride for the last 150 years,” Joshua Slocum, executive director of the Funeral Consumers Alliance, tells Bloomberg Business Week. “Why aren’t as many caskets imported as Chinese dishware? It defies all known rules of supply and demand.” The industry-standard markup rate on caskets is 125 percent and it can be higher on an imported model like ACE. White & Day Mortuary reported to Bloomberg Businessweek in 2015 that they buy the popular Mandarin model, a 20-gauge steel unit, from ACE for $338 and sell it for $2,495. That is a markup of more than 700 percent and is still a competitive price for shoppers. In an industry facing pressure from budget shoppers, internet sales, and rising cremation rates, this additional revenue can can be a godsend for a privately owned funeral home. So why hasn’t the entire industry abandoned the Big Two and jumped on the imported casket train?It likely comes down to distribution. Because the funeral home industry is made up nearly entirely of mom and pop businesses that receive about 100 calls annually. This makes it difficult (or impossible) for them to purchase expensive wholesale products like caskets outright. Since they cannot purchase a container-load of caskets, they often place single orders at the time of need. A small company like ACE cannot deliver products in time for waiting families, but The Big Two have refined distribution channels allowing them to deliver a casket within 24-hours. The Big Two are aware that their hold on distribution is being threatened as small importers like ACE grow and attain more resources. In 2006, A Matthews subsidiary filed a design infringement suit and nearly toppled ACE causing early customers to leave and Malamas and his Chinese importer to amass $2 million in legal fees. Bloomberg Business week reported, “When Malamas entered the market, Big Casket moved quickly to defend its turf. In 2006 a Matthews subsidiary filed suit, alleging that ACE and its Chinese supplier were copying its designs. Matthews also sent letters to funeral homes and distributors, threatening to sue if they continued to buy from Malamas. ACE eventually prevailed in the lawsuit with Matthews in 2012, and the company’s Chinese supplier picked up most of the legal tab. But by then, Malamas’s revenue had been cut in half, his clients were spooked, and the business was in shambles.”
Now, two-years since the Bloomberg story, where does the war on imported caskets stand?For starters, Basteville and Mathews have continued to move their casket manufacturing plants to Mexico, a move that began in the early 2000’s. This was expected and probably long overdue from a business standpoint. Funeral industry expert Dan Isard told the Huffington Post in an interview:
According to Malamas, after Mathews lost the 2012 suite against Wuxi Tractor Factory, they filed an enforcement action against the manufacturer. The enforcement action does not appear to be a lawsuit, but is intended to allow Mathews to conduct investigations to monitor compliance and identify violations. The details of the enforcement action could not be confirmed. Malamas himself still gets letters for court appearances even though he no longer works with Wuxi Tractor Factory. He said he does not understand why he continues to feel pressure from Mathews lawyers. “I am not complying,” he tells Connecting Directors. Malamas and his comply ACE Caskets weathered the storm of the 2012 suite, but not without damage. He told Connecting Directors that his sales have declined 75%. He added, “…but “I have a lot of energy again and we are making progress.” ACE Caskets is no longer the largest importer, giving way to companies like Signet Supply and Best Price Caskets. Malamas has been refining his product line, reportedly visiting 54 Chinese casket manufacturers in person to find the best quality/price combination to offer his growing U.S. client base. All of his wood is sourced in the U.S. and Canada then shipped to China for production. Malamas told Connecting Directors:
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Frozen Dead Guy Days, held March 9-11, 2018, a wild and wacky celebration of all things dead and frozen, is coming soon! The festival features a parade of hearses, coffin races on a snowy obstacle course, costumed polar plunging, frozen T-shirt contests, The Newly-Dead Game®, music, parties, and much more. Gail Rubin, The Doyenne of Death® and […] via Tumblr Grandpa’s in the TUFF SHED at Frozen Dead Guy Days Social media is universal and valuable for every single profession. It’s a language that has no barriers and the only constant that ties it all together is the consumer. The same consumer buying a car or searching for a dentist is also the same consumer that will shop a funeral home. The buying habits of that consumer will not change regardless of the profession or product they are shopping. In this episode, Ryan spends time with Joshua Scott of Studio 8e8 (Dental Marketing company) discussing ATTENTION across the dental space and funeral space. The similarities are many. Learn more about DISRUPT Media: http://www.disruptmedia.co About Ryan Thogmartin: Ryan Thogmartin is a death care entrepreneur and the CEO of DISRUPT Media and creator of ConnectingDirectors.com. | Follower of Christ | Husband | Father | Entrepreneur | Host of #DISRUPTu! and #FUNERALnationtv | Lover of Skittles About DISRUPT Media: Most deathcare companies struggle with Facebook marketing. We provide a process for creating personalized Facebook content that will drive community engagement and measurable leads ensuring growth and profitability. Studio 8E8 The 8E8 (pronounced “88”) Show is a regular dental podcast answering marketing’s most important questions. The show is hosted by Joshua Scott. Learn more about his approach to marketing at http://joshuascott.com. The post DEATH and TEETH | FUNERAL Hustle 019 appeared first on Connecting Directors. DEATH and TEETH | FUNERAL Hustle 019 published first on YouTube via Tumblr DEATH and TEETH | FUNERAL Hustle 019 West Des Moines, IA – The Homesteaders Life Company Board of Directors has appointed Steve Shaffer as the company’s 10th President and CEO in a vote that marked the final step of the company’s strategically planned leadership transition. “Steve Shaffer’s appointment was a clear and easy choice for the Board,” affirmed Homesteaders Chairman and outgoing President and CEO Steve Lang. “Over the last few years, he has shown remarkable commitment to our company and earned the confidence of our funeral home customers, marketing partners and employees. He is ideally placed to ensure Homesteaders’ continued success.” “Homesteaders is well positioned to continue its tradition of growth, profitability and financial strength,” observed Shaffer. “Steve Lang has been diligent in preparing for this transition, and I am honored to assume custodianship of the company.” Prior to joining Homesteaders as COO in 2014, Shaffer co-founded and served as President and CEO of Foundation Partners Group, LLC, and was a co-founder and CFO of Keystone Group Holdings, Inc. He has served as a Funeral Service Foundation Trustee since 2010 and was the Foundation’s 2014-15 Board Chair. Shaffer’s appointment will take effect on March 15. Lang was recently reelected to the Board for another five-year term and will continue to serve as Chairman through February 2019. Homesteaders Life Company is a national leader providing products and services to promote and support the funding of advance funeral planning and end-of-life expenses. The post Shaffer Appointed Homesteaders President and CEO appeared first on Connecting Directors. Shaffer Appointed Homesteaders President and CEO published first on YouTube via Tumblr Shaffer Appointed Homesteaders President and CEO March 15 to 17 in Santa Fe, check out Transitioning Artfully: Approaching the Intersection of Art and Death. It’s a three-day event celebrating life, art, and transitions into death. Hosted by Berardinelli Family Funeral Service, Transitioning Artfully features an art show of cremation urns, movies, discussions in Death Cafés, talks, and tour of the crematory. It provides a safe and […] via Tumblr March 15: Answers to Your Burning Questions on Cremation How can you make your funeral and final arrangements more eco-friendly? There are more ways than you may realize. Take a death positive approach and learn what you need to know before you go! If you live in the Denver area, on March 9, come hear Certified Thanatologist Gail Rubin speak on Going Green: New […] via Tumblr March 9: Going Green with New Trends in Death Care President Trump wants more immigrants from Norway and an end to “chain migration,” family-based immigration. The story behind the award-winning Frozen Dead Guy Days Festival in Nederland, Colorado is current news! Frozen Dead Guy Days, held March 9-11, 2018, is a wild and wacky celebration of all things dead and frozen. It features a parade […] via Tumblr How a Norwegian Became the Celebrated Frozen Dead Guy The New York Times and the Huffington Post in Canada just ran separate articles on pre-need funeral planning. I hope this prompts more people to take action and actually plan ahead for this inevitable life cycle event. Smarter Living (and Dying!) The New York Times Smarter Living section ran Want to Plan for Your Death […] via Tumblr Pre-Need Funeral Planning in the News If your house was on fire and you had one minute to grab any item, what would you take and why? National Public Radio’s Weekend Edition Sunday featured an interview with actresses Ellen Burstyn and Amber Tamblyn talking with host Lulu Garcia-Navarro about their latest film project, Nostalgia. In this seven-and-a-half minute interview, they discuss […] via Tumblr If Your Home Was on Fire, What Would You Save? This is a never-ending topic. It has been in the news that there is a push toward the FTC to require funeral homes to have their general price list online (if they have a website). Jeff and Ryan both work within this realm (online and funeral financial world) so they thought it would be a good idea to discuss this issue. Let’s start a discussion, tell us your thoughts on this topic in the comments. Advertisers: The post LIST GPL PRICES ONLINE…or NOT? | FUNERAL Nation 104 appeared first on Connecting Directors. LIST GPL PRICES ONLINE…or NOT? | FUNERAL Nation 104 published first on YouTube via Tumblr LIST GPL PRICES ONLINE…or NOT? | FUNERAL Nation 104 |
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