So we still live by his little rules in other words, you know. More important, independent funeral home such as Hallet's face a much different competitive landscape than they once did. Today, a handful of big conglomerates have bought up almost 20 percent of the nation's funeral homes and a growing number of its cemeteries and crematoriums. One in nine U.S. funerals is said to be performed by one company, Houston-based Service Corporation International. And so, the individual family home-owned funeral is having a harder time competing.
Analysts say the consolidation of the funeral industry has been driven in part by economics.
As the U.S. population has aged, funerals have become something of a growth industry. Industry officials insist that consolidation benefits consumers. They say the conglomerates bring capital and professional management techniques that help marginal funeral homes survive. But critics say the conglomerates have hurt consumers more than they've helped them. Consumer groups complain that some conglomerates use unusually aggressive marketing practices.