Are Private Equity Firms Our Next Big Fear?

There are a growing number of firms who no longer see the growth of the conglomerates as their biggest concerns. There is a new movement afoot.

It has been estimated that private equity firms have in excess of $68 billion dollars available to invest.

They have now set sights on our profession. First with Legacy.com (controlling most funeral homes online visitor traffic) and then Aurora (the industries third largest casket supplier). And there are others.

Their  typical model is to leverage the combine strengths of all of their holdings to create a stronger market presence. What has funeral professionals concerned about is when an entity like this can easily afford a 30 second commercial during Super Bowl, our profession, as we know it could be lost.

While no one knows for sure what the true intentions are, all of us have witness what happened overnight to Independent Hardware Store owners when Home Depot moved in. And Home Depot was not lining up with checks in their hand to buy up these independences store for twice what they were worth, consumers bulldozed the stores for them.  One thing we all know for sure, consumers needs and demands are changing. Could we be setting ourselves up for the same fate?

Something to think about.