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    funeral services related activities industry south africa

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2022

    Yasmin Mahomedy | South Africa | 28 January 2022

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2020

    Kate Shand | South Africa | 08 May 2020

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2016

    Carole Veitch | South Africa | 22 February 2016

    Report Info

    Report Summary Table of Contents
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    Report Coverage

    This report focuses on the funeral services industry and related services in South Africa. It includes information on the effects of the pandemic on the industry, developments, notable players and key trends. There are profiles of 17 companies including major players such as AVBOB, Doves and Mosaic Funerals, burial societies such as Tshebedisano Burial Society And Calgro M3, which develops memorial parks.

    Funeral Services and Related Activities in South Africa

    The funeral services industry in South Africa has been growing at around 12% annually. While undertakers and funeral parlours played critical roles during the pandemic, there were many challenges, especially for small funeral operators. Industry players say that growing demand for burial space needs to be addressed urgently. The bulk of the industry is made up of small businesses serving local communities. A significant number of these do not have certificates of competence and operate in the informal funeral services sector.

    Pandemic Challenges

    The funeral industry has been overwhelmed with the increase in deaths over the past 18 months. Regulations for funerals have been changing according to the Disaster Management Act regulations alert levels and new requirements for handling bodies of people who were infected with the virus were introduced. Funerals have been identified as high-risk sites of COVID-19 infection. Funeral parlours have significantly increased burial and cremation prices during the pandemic, citing increased costs.

    Repatriation

    With South Africa’s large community of immigrants, the repatriation of bodies is a critical part of the industry. The costs to Zimbabwe, for example, average about R10,000 by road, and R15,000 by air, which include the costs of paperwork, embalming and a coffin. High costs and red tape mean that many bodies are secretly transported.

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    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2022

    Full Report

    R 9 500.00(ZAR) estimated $501.43 (USD)*

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    Industry Overview

    R 6 650.00(ZAR) estimated $ 351.00 (USD)*

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    Industry Organogram

    R 750.00(ZAR) estimated $ 39.59 (USD)*

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    Historical Reports

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2020-05-08

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

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    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2016-02-22

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

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    Table of Contents

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    PAGE
    1. INTRODUCTION 1
    2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 1
    2.1. Industry Value Chain 5
    2.2. Geographic Position 6
    2.3. Size of the Industry 7
    2.4. Key Success Factors and Pain Points 10
    3. LOCAL 10
    3.1. Key Trends 16
    3.2. Notable Players 17
    3.3. Corporate Actions 18
    3.4. Regulations 19
    3.5. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development 22
    4. AFRICA 23
    5. INTERNATIONAL 24
    6. INFLUENCING FACTORS 26
    6.1. COVID -19 26
    6.2. Economic Environment 27
    6.3. Labour 28
    6.4. Environmental Issues 30
    6.5. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 31
    6.6. Load Shedding 31
    6.7. Input Costs 31
    6.8. Government Tenders 33
    7. COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT 34
    7.1. Competition 34
    7.2. Ownership Structure of the Industry 35
    7.3 Barriers to Entry 35
    8. SWOT ANALYSIS 36
    9. OUTLOOK 37
    10. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 37
    11. REFERENCES 38
    10.1. Publications 38
    10.2. Websites 38
    APPENDIX 1 39
    Summary of Notable Players 39
    COMPANY PROFILES 46
    21st Century Life (Pty) Ltd 46
    AVBOB (Begrafnisdiens) Ltd 49
    Batho Batsho Bakopane Funeral Services S A (Pty) Ltd 59
    Calgro M3 Memorial Parks Bloemfontein (Pty) Ltd 62
    Calgro M3 Memorial Parks Holding (Pty) Ltd 64
    Calgro M3 Memorial Parks Nasrec (Pty) Ltd 66
    Doves Group (Pty) Ltd 68
    Econo Funerals (Pty) Ltd 72
    Grobbelaars and Church Street Funeral Services (Pty) Ltd 74
    Group Burial Association 76
    Icebolethu Group (Pty) Ltd 78
    Independent Crematoriums S A (Pty) Ltd 81
    Legacy Pet Crematorium (Pty) Ltd 83
    Martin's Funerals Franchising (Pty) Ltd 85
    Mosaic Funeral Group of Companies (Pty) Ltd 88
    Sonja Smith Funeral Group (Pty) Ltd 90
    Tshebedisano Burial Society CC 92

    Report Coverage

    This report focuses on South Africa’s funeral services industry, including information on the size and state of the sector, the major players and the effect of issues such as the lack of oversight and coronavirus on the industry. There are profiles of 16 companies including the major players as well as Calgro M3, whose business includes private burial services and memorial parks, crematoriums such as Independent Crematoriums, burial societies such as Tshebedisano and Group Burial Association, and companies that cater for pets such as Legacy Pet Crematorium.

    Funeral Services & Related Activities

    South Africa’s high mortality rate and the importance of funerals to the majority of the population have given rise to a large and highly lucrative funeral services industry. The funeral industry includes funeral undertakers and mortuaries, cemeteries and crematoriums, manufacturers of funeral products, transporters of human remains, suppliers of funeral goods, embalmers, and funeral directors. The leading mainstream players include Avbob, Doves and franchisors Martin’s Funerals and the Mosaic Funeral Group. However, the bulk of the industry is made up of small businesses operating informally and serving very local markets.

    Industry Trends

    The funeral industry is characterised by informality, non-compliance and corruption and many funeral parlours are operating without certificates of compliance. There is a dire need to alleviate the growing demand for burial space and some municipalities are promoting second burials in the same plot and cremations. Funeral parlours say there are increasing requests for luxury funerals that may include luxury cars, helicopter hearses and graveside lounge suites.

    Coronavirus

    Due to coronavirus, there are strict regulations in place for funerals. South Africans can travel to other provinces for funerals but they will need a permit and must be a close family member. The maximum number of people who can attend a funeral is 50 and the holding of night vigils is prohibited. There are also new requirements for handling bodies of people who were infected with the virus. Coronavirus has created a few opportunities such as live-streaming of funerals.

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    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2020

    Full Report

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

    Buy Now +

    Industry Overview

    R 1 330.00(ZAR) estimated $ 70.20 (USD)*

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    Historical Reports

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2022-01-28

    R 9 500.00(ZAR) estimated $501.43 (USD)*

    View Report Add to Cart

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2016-02-22

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

    View Report Add to Cart

    Table of Contents

    [ Close ]
    PAGE
    1. INTRODUCTION 1
    2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 1
    2.1. Industry Value Chain 3
    2.2. Geographic Position 5
    3. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY 6
    4. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 8
    4.1. Local 8
    4.1.1. Corporate Actions 12
    4.1.2. Regulations 13
    4.1.3. Enterprise Development and Socio-Economic Development 16
    4.2. Continental 17
    4.3. International 18
    5. INFLUENCING FACTORS 20
    5.1. Economic Environment 20
    5.2. Input Costs 20
    5.3. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 20
    5.4. Labour 21
    5.5. Environmental Concerns 22
    5.6. Load Shedding 24
    5.7. Service Delivery by Local Government 24
    5.8. Coronavirus 24
    6. COMPETITION 26
    6.1. Barriers to Entry 27
    7. SWOT ANALYSIS 28
    8. OUTLOOK 29
    9. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 29
    10. REFERENCES 30
    10.1. Publications 30
    10.2. Websites 30
    APPENDIX 1 31
    Summary of Notable players 31
    COMPANY PROFILES 36
    21ST CENTURY LIFE (PTY) LTD 36
    AVBOB (BEGRAFNISDIENS) LTD 38
    BATHO BATSHO BAKOPANE FUNERAL SERVICES S A (PTY) LTD 47
    CALGRO M3 MEMORIAL PARKS BLOEMFONTEIN (PTY) LTD 50
    CALGRO M3 MEMORIAL PARKS HOLDING (PTY) LTD 51
    CALGRO M3 MEMORIAL PARKS NASREC (PTY) LTD 53
    DOVES GROUP (PTY) LTD 55
    ECONO FUNERALS CC 59
    GROBBELAARS AND CHURCH STREET FUNERAL SERVICES (PTY) LTD 61
    GROUP BURIAL ASSOCIATION 62
    INDEPENDENT CREMATORIUMS S A (PTY) LTD 63
    LEGACY PET CREMATORIUM (PTY) LTD 65
    MARTIN'S FUNERALS FRANCHISING (PTY) LTD 67
    MOSAIC FUNERAL GROUP OF COMPANIES (PTY) LTD 69
    SONJA SMITH FUNERAL GROUP (PTY) LTD 71
    TSHEBEDISANO BURIAL SOCIETY CC 73

    Report Coverage

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities report describes current conditions, recent developments including innovations in light of the increasing shortage of land, and factors influencing the success of the sector. The report profiles 14 companies operational in the formal market, including the AVBOB Group, the Doves Group (Pty) Ltd, and franchisors, Martin’s Funerals Franchising (Pty) Ltd and 21st Century Life (Pty) Ltd. Also profiled are Batho Batsho Bakopane Funeral Services SA (Pty) Ltd t/a B3 Funeral Services which operates locally and in Swaziland, and the Independent Crematoriums of South Africa (ICSA), which operate 12 of the country’s 25 crematoriums.

    The South African Funeral Services Sector

    This report focuses on South Africa’s thriving funeral services industry which is estimated to generate revenue of between R7.5bn and R10bn each year. Role players in the formal and informal funeral sectors estimate that at least 70,000 undertakers are active in the domestic death care market and that approximately 15,000 funeral parlours are operational. Of interest is that in this competitive market the largest players jointly serve less than 4% of the domestic market.

    A Lack of Reliable Statistics

    Reliable statistics regarding the size of the local funeral industry, as well as its contribution to South Africa’s GDP are not available. This can be attributed to the fact that the sector is characterised by high levels of informality and undertakers are not required to register with one of the three industry bodies. Informal operators are widely supported by an indeterminate number of stokvels, as well as by over 100,000 burial societies. Stakeholders report numerous problems including an indeterminate number of unlicensed ‘backyard’ service providers, illegal burials and unreported deaths.

    Trends

    Although there are relatively few private cemeteries in South Africa, private memorial parks are becoming increasingly popular. Significant players include Fourways Memorial Park, Legacy Parks and Calgro M3’s Nasrec Memorial Park. Growing in popularity in the formal sector are lavish funeral ceremonies and ‘after tears parties’, ‘green’ funerals, ‘living funerals’, also known as pre-funerals, and live Internet streaming of funerals.

    Read More..
    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2016

    Full Report

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

    Buy Now +

    Industry Overview

    R 1 330.00(ZAR) estimated $ 70.20 (USD)*

    Buy Now +

    Historical Reports

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2022-01-28

    R 9 500.00(ZAR) estimated $501.43 (USD)*

    View Report Add to Cart

    The Funeral Services and Related Activities Industry in South Africa 2020-05-08

    R 1 900.00(ZAR) estimated $100.29 (USD)*

    View Report Add to Cart

    Table of Contents

    [ Close ]
    PAGE
    1. INTRODUCTION 1
    2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY 1
    2.1. Value Chain 3
    2.2. Geographic Position 5
    3. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY 5
    4. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 12
    4.1. Local 12
    4.1.1. Corporate Actions 15
    4.1.2. Regulations 15
    4.1.3. Enterprise Development and Socio-Economic Development Initiatives 18
    4.2. Continental 19
    4.3. International 20
    5. INFLUENCING FACTORS 22
    5.1. Economic Environment 22
    5.2. Government Intervention 23
    5.3. Informality and Illegal Practices 23
    5.4. Life Expectancy 23
    5.5. Input Costs 24
    5.6. Environmental Concerns 25
    5.7. Technology, Research and Development (R&D) and Innovation 26
    5.8. Labour Resources 28
    5.9. Cyclicality 30
    6. COMPETITION 30
    6.1. Barriers to Entry 30
    7. SWOT ANALYSIS 31
    8. OUTLOOK 32
    9. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS 33
    10. REFERENCES 33
    10.1. Publications 33
    10.2. Websites 34
    COMPANY PROFILES 36
    21st Century Life (Pty) Ltd 36
    Avalon Memoriam BFN (Pty) Ltd 39
    AVBOB (Begrafnisdiens) Ltd 40
    Batho Batsho Bakopane Funeral Services SA (Pty) Ltd 50
    Calgro M3 Memorial Parks (Pty) Ltd 53
    Doves Group (Pty) Ltd 54
    Durbanville Memorial Park (Pty) Ltd 57
    Fourways Memorial Park CC 58
    Independent Crematoriums SA (Pty) Ltd 59
    Legacy Parks (Pty) Ltd 61
    Legacy Pet Crematorium (Pty) Ltd 62
    Martin's Funeral Franchising (Pty) Ltd 63
    Sonja Smith Funeral Group (Pty) Ltd 65
    Tshebedisano Burial Society CC 67

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