For Immediate Release
August 17, 2011
Private Label Announces 15,000th Casket Delivered
Start-up casket distributor Private Label delivered its 15,000th casket in August. Private Label was formed in 2009 and now has distributors in 20 states plus Canada and Puerto Rico.
Private Label is a division of the Buchanan Group / Flanner and Buchanan Funeral Centers group of privately-owned businesses located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Both companies are owned by brothers Bruce and Brian Buchanan. They are fourth generation owners of a funeral business celebrating its 130th anniversary this year.
“With profit margins shrinking in the funeral business our Private Label clients are seeing our high-quality import products as a no-brainer decision, said Bruce Buchanan. There is dramatic impact on the bottom line.”
But it’s not all about price; Private Label’s success has been fueled through its growing distribution network. Carlos Figueroa, Private Label’s general manager, describes it this way. “Making a delivery from more than 3,000 miles away takes a complex set of processes, and commitments by a company that must partner with foreign vendors, navigate the import market, plus partner with delivery companies. Our distributors have the courage to convince their local funeral home market to accept, test and show the product to families.
Private Label has confidently and successfully sailed these waters and now has 30 independent distributors across the United Sates,” Figueroa said.
The company ships caskets from its warehouses in Indianapolis, Atlanta and Houston. Many distributors receive containers directly from the factory, but the company will deliver individual units if it will help a client meet a commitment.
Buchanan Group moved into complimentary lines of business in 1999 when it acquired a monument company now called Millennium Memorials. Then in 2007, Flanner and Buchanan began importing both metal and wood caskets from China. This occurred after extensive study of the product, the vendor, the process and the quality.
“The huge cost savings of using an import product has contributed significantly to our bottom line, said Brian Buchanan. We now have control over pricing instead of reacting to supplier price increases. Our client families are also getting a quality product. That is important to us.”
“Buchanan Group, a management services company, has been diversifying the skills of its management team for over ten years now, said Bruce Buchanan. With this new expertise we are able to take our business in new directions.”
Private Label expects to ship another 15,000 caskets within the next twelve months.
Contact:
Bruce Buchanan
317-538-6796 (cell)