Service Corp International Inc (SCI)

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Service Corporation International (SCI) is to death what H&R Block is to taxes. SCI, the largest funeral and cemetery services company in North America, operates about 1,340 funeral homes and about 365 cemeteries in 40-plus US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Germany. Services include embalming, burial, and cremation. The company also sells prearranged funeral services, caskets, burial vaults, cremation receptacles, flowers, and burial garments and owns a minority stake in disaster recovery company Kenyon International Emergency Services. SCI expanded significantly in late 2006 by acquiring its chief rival, Alderwoods Group.

Service Corporation International (NYSE: SCI) is North America’s largest provider of end-of-life arrangements and services. Based in Houston, Texas, United States, SCI operates more than 1,500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries in 48 states, eight Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico.
Company History
Robert L. Waltrip, a licensed funeral director who grew up in his family’s funeral business, founded the company in 1962.[2] SCI began as a small network of funeral homes and cemeteries in the Houston area.

As SCI grew its offshore presence, it continued to acquire businesses in North America—a marketplace that, by the late 1990s, had become extremely competitive among companies seeking to buy death care businesses. SCI, Alderwoods Group and Stewart Enterprises emerged from this period as the three largest companies in the industry. On December 31, 1999, SCI owned and operated 3,823 funeral service locations, 525 cemeteries, 198 crematoria and two insurance operations located in 20 countries on five continents. [3]

In 1999, SCI also introduced Dignity Memorial[4], the first transcontinental brand of death care services and products in North America. By unifying its network of funeral homes and cemeteries under one brand name, SCI believed it could establish recognizable and communicable brand values.

In 2000, poor market conditions forced SCI to reevaluate operations. While foreign operations had once shown promise, nearly 70 percent of SCI’s revenue was generated by operations in the United States and Canada. The company decided to divest many of its offshore businesses, in addition to many North American funeral homes and cemeteries. [5]

Between 2002 and 2006, SCI reduced its net debt (total debt minus cash) by more than $1.0 billion, increased operating cash flow, and simplified its field management organization to enhance efficiency, performance, and accountability. It also improved business and sales processes, tightened internal controls, strengthened corporate governance standards, and established the finest training and development system in its industry. For its shareholders, SCI returned value through more than $335 million in share repurchases, and it resumed payment of a regular quarterly dividend in early 2005, the first since 1999.[6]

In 2006, SCI merged with Alderwoods Group, its nearest competitor in terms of size. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) blocked the merger, citing concerns over consumer choice. After agreeing to divest funeral home and cemetery locations in several markets and end licensing agreements with other funeral homes, the FTC allowed the merger to continue. By 2007, the integration of Alderwoods locations and operations was complete.


[edit] Brands
SCI operates the following brands in the United States and Canada[7].

Dignity Memorial

Founded in 1999, Dignity Memorial is North America’s first transcontinental brand of end-of-life services and products. Dignity Memorial provides services in 41 states and seven Canadian provinces.

Dignity Planning

Dignity Planning provides end-of-life planning and arrangements through Dignity Memorial North America locations.

Advantage

Advantage provides basic funeral services and products.

Funeraria del Angel

Funeraria del Angel provides specialized services for Hispanic customers.

Memorial Plan

Memorial Plan currently manages six funeral homes and five cemeteries in South Florida.

Making everlasting Memories

Making everlasting Memories (MeM) is an online database service that allows customers to preserve biographies, photographs and other memories of loved ones.

National Cremation Society

Founded in 1973, National Cremation Society is the oldest and largest cremation service in the United States.


[edit] Business model
SCI's network of funeral homes consists almost entirely of existing businesses that the company acquired. SCI tends to buy successful funeral homes that are firmly settled and already well-known in their community. The company retains the home's original name, often along with former owners who are kept on as management. Therefore, a typical funeral home that is owned by SCI will not contain advertisements or logos for the corporation, with the exception, perhaps, of pins on staff lapels. As a consequence, most North American consumers are unfamiliar with the company itself. Instead, SCI places strong emphasis on their Dignity Memorial TM brand. The "Dignity" logo can be seen throughout SCI's funeral homes and cemeteries, on staff, signage, paperwork, vehicles, etc.


[edit] Interesting Facts
SCI operates Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. Rose Hills is the largest single-site cemetery in the world at 2,500 acres.[8]
SCI operates Joseph Gawler’s Sons Funeral Home in Washington, D.C. Joseph Gawler’s Sons is known as “the funeral home to the presidents.”[9]
SCI operates the famed Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel located in Manhattan, New York.[10]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Eliza May
In the late 1990s, SCI was involved in a controversy involving alleged violations of Texas State embalming laws. The proceedings took a political slant due to Robert Waltrip’s friendship with the family of then-governor George W. Bush and Waltrip's campaign contributions to various members of the Bush family..[11]

Referred to as "Funeralgate" or "Formaldegate" in the media, the controversy was widely publicized when Eliza May—a director with the Texas Funeral Service Commission (TFSC)—was fired while investigating SCI. May alleged in a civil suit that she was fired because she refused to halt her investigation, despite pressure to do so from Governor Bush. Other TFSC employees indicated she was fired because her colleagues had lost confidence in her ability and because she was using her authority inappropriately.

May's lawyers subpoenaed President Bush to testify at the trial,[12] but Texas Judge John K. Dietz threw out the subpoena on the grounds that the then-governor was not in a position to have enough specialized information to require his involvement.[13]

The lawsuit was settled in 2001 for more than $200,000. SCI and the state of Texas were required to jointly pay the decision.[14] On January 23, 2004, the TFSC fined SCI an additional $21,000 for administrative penalties.[14]


[edit] Menorah Gardens
In December 2001, Florida news media reported that two Jewish Florida cemeteries called Menorah Gardens, owned by SCI, had mishandled bodies and, in several instances, disinterred bodies to place other people in the graves.[15] The general manager of Menorah Gardens, Peter Hartman, died by apparent suicide on December 27, 2001.[16] The state of Florida filed a civil complaint against SCI in 2002 and then felony charges in 2003 in connection with these events. [17][18] Following a class action suit filed by more than 2,000 families, SCI agreed to a settlement of $100 million. [19]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_Corporation_International