Service Corporation International is an American provider of funeral goods and services as well as cemetery property and cremation services. It is headquartered in Neartown, Houston, Texas, and operates secondary corporate offices in Jefferson, Louisiana (near New Orleans). SCI operates more than 1500 funeral homes and 400 cemeteries.
Company history
Robert L. Waltrip founded the company in 1962. SCI began as a small network of funeral homes and cemeteries in the Houston area.
SCI, Alderwoods Group, and Stewart Enterprises emerged from the 1990s as the three largest companies in the industry. On, SCI owned and operated 3,823 funeral service locations, 525 cemeteries, 198 crematoria and two insurance operations located in 20 countries on five continents.
In 1999, SCI also introduced its Dignity Memorial branding.
Between 2002 and 2006, SCI reduced its net debt (total debt minus cash) by more than US$1.0 billion, increased operating cash flow, and simplified its field management organization to enhance efficiency, performance, and accountability. It also changed business and sales processes, tightened internal controls following the protocols, strengthened corporate governance standards, and established a new training and development system. For its shareholders, SCI returned value through more than US$335 million in share repurchases and it resumed payment of a regular quarterly dividend in early 2005, the first since 1999.
Acquisitions
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 SCI agreed 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's locations and operations was complete.
In 2009, SCI put in a bid to purchase Keystone North America for US$208 million (US$ million as of ). The purchase was completed in 2010 and added about 200 locations.
In May 2013, SCI signed a US$1.4 billion deal to purchase Stewart Enterprises, the second-largest death care company. In December 2013, the FTC imposed conditions on the acquisition, requiring the two companies to sell 53 funeral homes and 38 cemeteries in 59 local markets, and requiring the merged company to be subject to a ten-year period during which the FTC will review any attempt by the company to acquire funeral or cemetery assets in those local markets.
Brands
SCI operates the following brands in the United States and Canada:
- Advantage
- Caballero Rivero
- Dignité
- Dignity Memorial
- Dignity Memorial Premier Collection
- Funeraria del Angel
- LHT Consulting Group, LLC
- Neptune Memorial Reef
- Neptune Society/Trident Society/Neptune Society of Northern California
- National Cremation
- Rose Hills Memorial Park
Notable properties
- Caballero Rivero Woodlawn Park North Cemetery and Mausoleum in Miami
- Crown Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery in Indianapolis
- Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, New York City
- Eden Memorial Park Cemetery, Los Angeles
- Glenwood Memorial Gardens, Broomall, Pennsylvania
- Greenwood/Memory Lawn Mortuary & Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona
- Joseph Gawler's Sons in Washington, D.C.
- Joshua Memorial Park in Lancaster, California
Controversies
Costs
Writing in an, issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, journalist Paul M. Barrett found, despite its lower overhead, SCI has higher prices than independent funeral home operators. Barrett quoted "data compiled" by a concierge' funeral planning service" Everest Funeral Package, which found that for "traditional funerals, SCI charges US$6256 on average (excluding casket and cemetery plot), 42 percent more than independents." In reply, SCI points to "overwhelmingly positive responses" on customer surveys and states they provide "top value" at a variety of funeral price points.
Texas
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.
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.
May's lawyers subpoenaed President Bush to testify at the trial, 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.