Batesville Casket Testing Vault Sales after Very Bad Revenue Year-YourFuneralGuy

Batesville Casket  has been testing the sale of Funeral Vaults.  Reasons are revealed here on Why Families do not need  a Batesville Golden casket or any other coffin from the company. Batesville  Financial Reports  have been the worst in recent memory another indication of Funeral Industry Decline.

Reasons are Revealed Here Why You Do Not Need a Michael Jackson Golden Casket or any other "Batesville"

Snippet Batesville 3rd Quarter Results  From RTT:

Revenue came down to $496.0 million from $519.3 million in the same period (9 month) last year.

As I have stated in other corners of the web.

“Batesville and SCI have no choice but to acquire to survive. With Financial numbers and net revenues for the year down in the 10s of millions,you cannot just keep cutting expenses to be profitable….

Batesville is the Largest casket supplier in the United States of America. The official Company Name is Hillenbrand INC(HI). Astute Funeral Industry Observers have known about the Batesville Vault Beta Test.

Detail from  Goria Vault Corporation Web Page-

“Goria Vault Corporation”My purpose in writing today is to advise you of a change in our business. Effective November 16, 2009. Goria sold the molds and intellectual property rights on which our vaults are produced. Goria has closed its burial vault business and have ceased all manufacturing operations and will no longer be a supplier of burial vaults. For a number of reasons, we felt the time was appropriate and are confident we made the right decision in choosing the reputable organization we sold too.”

Connecting directors.com is reporting that Batesville has purchased  a portion of  Goria Vault  and that the Goria Vault Beta Test is extending into 2010.

A Casket is much more reasonable at Walmart Online.

It is my opinion that  a Family should not purchase the high end Batesville Casket, because you do not need to pay up to and  $25,000 dollars for a golden casket like  the Michael Jackson Family!

THE FUNERAL CONSUMERS ALLIANCE MAY HAVE LOST THEIR ANTI TRUST LAWSUITS AGANST BATESVILLE AND SCI-but  it appears they may be winning the war as these funeral giants experience massive financial and other difficulties.

Funeral Industry|Funeral News Funeral Blog By Your Funeral Guy

Michael Jackson Golden Casket pic from flickr under under the creative commons license from

DianthusMoon’s photostream

UPDATE ON THE CONNECTING DIRECTORS SIDE OF THIS STORY
UPDATE ON THE BATESVILLE SIDE OF THE STORY.

Stewart Enterprises Financial Report |more Funeral Industry Decline-Your Funeral Guy

Stewart Enterprises INC has posted a 4th Quarter Revenue decline. Cutting of Salaries and expenses in the fourth quarter enabled the company to show a profit.

Fragile Economy is contributing to a Funeral Industry Decline

Revenues declined to $124.1 million from $130.36 million in the prior year quarter.

via www.rttnews.com

This another indication of funeral industry decline. Salaries and expenses cannot be cut forever. The Traditional Funeral Industry is on the brink.  It is an indication that  consumers are paying less for funerals, an are able to negotiate a  lower cost funeral.

Stewart Enterprises is the second largest funeral corporation in America. It’s financial reports, along with the largest corporation Service Corporation International can be taken as a measurement of the Funeral Industry.

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog-Your Funeral Guy

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Medical Science delaying Baby Boomer Funerals-Your Funeral Guy

Medical Science is hollding back the Funerals of Baby Boomers

Medical Science is holding up Baby Boomer Funerals and an explosion of Business for the Funeral Industry. Because of the recession interest in Funeral Service is up 20% according to Mortuary schools. The cremation rate for 2009 has jumped to 38% nationwide.

Many folks are leaving their traditional jobs thinking they are entering a recession proof business called funeral service. Cremation sales are up and traditional sales are down. It is not the number of Sales that are down but the amount of Funeral Goods and Services  people are buying.

From Bakersfield.com

“To the funeral industry, the deaths of baby boomers – people born between 1946 and 1964 – is a windfall worth lusting over. But first, the industry must survive the current “death trough,” the decline in death caused by advances in medical science, among other things.

According to federal agencies that track population and health statistics, the nation’s death rate has dipped slightly and is expected to be “stagnant” for several more years.”

The Funeral business is hurting and anyone who suggests you will have a new  profitable career there is lying. Preneed Sales or prearrangement sales are down 50% (according to the NFDA)and the industry is tarnished by Scandal(IFDA,NPS, Neptune Society, SCI).

Yes Medical Science is holding back baby boomer funerals, but the funeral industry will have to adjust before wind fall profits arrive.

Funeral industry|Funeral blog by your funeral guy.

Burr Oak Cemrtery Scandal: Proposed legislation Comment -yourfuneralguy

Subcommittee returns to DC to write Federal Cemetery Legislation

A  United States House of Representatives Subcommittee is about to propose Federal Cemetery legislation. This is in reaction to the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal. The comments here by MarsellusM710 are his opinions and not those of Your Funeral Guy.

“Dear Funeral Guy and Funeral Service Colleagues,

When will it all stop???  The idiotic actions and the lack of integrity of those involved with the infamous catastrophes in funeral service is simply unforgivable. Tri-State Crematory, NPS, IFDA, the organ/tissue ordeal, SCI’s Cemetery problems, and God only knows how many others and now Burr Oak.  What were they thinking???

And every time there is a reported wrongdoing issue in funeral service or cemetery care the consumer advocacy groups rear their ugly heads and scream for new or more regulation, When in fact there is more than likely regs on the books that already cover the violations and wrongdoings but are not enforced.

Regulators need to get off their duffs and out of the office buildings and be more visible in the field.  In one instance, a field auditor for the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, was doing his or her job, but the boss (Hynes) wasn’t listening or didn’t want to listen, and you see what that got IFDA Trust into.  When regulators, local, state or federal, don’t or won’t do their jobs and lets take it on down to the managerial level, you can almost bet fraud, deceit and greed will raise their ugly heads.

The deeds done at Burr Oak Cemetery has the gruesome makings for an ungodly horror movie.
The Black Community, an entity of people who truly value the traditional funeral, done a dirty deed by a group within the “community” itself.  Crime truly knows no color or economic background.  Those involved with this will not survive prison.  The Black Community will not stand for this to go “unpunished”, even behind prison walls.

Respectfully submitted,
MarsellusM710″

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

“From the Chicago Tribune”

Stirred by the emotional testimony of the living victims of the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal, congressional leaders left Chicago on Monday intending to push for legislation for federal oversight of the cemetery industry.

Burr oak cemetery pic from religion dispatches.org

Five Grave Scandals in 2009|SCI-yourfuneralguy

Service Corporation has been caught 5 times abusing the dead this year. It has been reported in the press.

Here are Five Scandals that have occurred at Service Corporation international in 2009. This is sad. This post serves as a reason why one should not use an NYSE: SCI funeral home. Service Corporation International  is the largest funeral corporation  in the world. In 2009 this funeral corporation has had a host of funeral scandals and has been plagued by financial problems.

April 5th 2009 SCI VETERAN CORPSE ABUSE REPORTED IN  The Washington Post Article and Video

Location: National Funeral  Home, Falls Church, Virginia

April 19th 2009 SCI Ripping memorials from Grave reported in Courier & Press

Location: Alexander Memorial Park  Evansville, Indiania

April 26th 2009 SCI  mishandling baby remains in burial-Washington Post

Location: Mount Comfort Cemetery, Alexandria, Virginia

April 26th 2009 SCI has Wrong Body in Wrong Grave-CharlotteObserver.com

Location: Mount Holy Cemetery, Charlotte, NC. SCI Grave problem

May 22nd 2009  “SCI Grave  Problem” palmbeachpost.com

Location Dade Memorial Park, Miami Florida

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy

Worlds Largest Funeral Corp:Preneed Dead?-yourfuneralguy.

Is Funeral Guaranteed Preneed Dead?

As stated before, YourFuneral Guy believes that the Guaranteed  Funeral Preneed is dead. It appears that numbers from the World’s Largest Funeral Corporation point to the death of the funeral product that has been around since the 1970′s.

Preneed sales at Service Corporation  International(NYSE:SCI) have been declining in the last 2 quarters.

The last quarter results point to corporate disaster for Service Corporation International.

As far as corporate reports go the numbers are buried in the details.

Overall Losses in 10′s of millions the first quarter 2009.

For the 1st quarter of 2009  losses were in the 10′s of millions.

• Funeral Revenue was down 41.6 million compared to the 1st Quarter 2008
• Cemetery Revenue was down  23.4 million compared to the 1st Quarter 2008

“Preneed fund ” unrealized losses for first quarter 2009 in 100′s of millions:

“As of March 31, 2009, we have net unrealized losses of $500.8 million in our preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts, and net unrealized losses of $189.3 million in our cemetery perpetual care trusts.”-SCI report”

These numbers compare 2009 and 2008 1st Quarter Trust figures.

Preneed trust Losses in 10′s of millions for the 1st quarter 2009.

“In the first quarter of 2009, we realized aggregate net losses of $40.8 million in our preneed funeral and cemetery merchandise and service trusts. In addition, we realized aggregate net losses of $10.7 million in our cemetery perpetual care trusts.”

This all points toward a death that has occurred for guarranteed preneed.

Avoid the wicked flea of guaranteed funeral preneed. It will bite you. So  if the funeral salesman says “guaranteed” flee.

This is just another strong indication of the coming funeral earthquake in the funeral business.

How can anyone guarantee investments 2, 5, or 10 years out.?

Funeral Industry|Funeral Blog by Your Funeral Guy-R.Brian Burkhardt

The three main causes of the death of preneed are 1-Wall Street Crash 2-the National Prearranged Services Scandal and the Illinois Funeral Directors Association IFDA Preneed Trust Scandal. “See Who Shot Preneed”

Sources: Entrepeneur

GuruFocus.com