They have conquered the transport, mass distribution, banking, telephony and hotel sectors. Favored by the rise of digital technology, low-cost models, which consist of significantly reducing a company’s costs to offer prices cheaper than the competition, are part of the habits of the French. But, despite the extremely high cost of a burial or cremation, the discounted offer is struggling to find a place on the funeral market. Very few brands have truly emerged. Some local agencies, often backed by groups, try to get noticed with claimed “cheaper” or “discount” prices. Launched in 2012 by Le Choix Funéraire, the national network Ecoplus Funeral is still present but its geographical development is much more limited than initially hoped.
We also find Funeral revolution, run for eleven years by the funeral services of the City of Paris, but its intervention is limited to four Ile-de-France departments. We could add the arrival in five large cities of the start-up InMemori, which does not consider itself low cost, without forgetting the emergence of small funeral cooperatives (Nantes, Rennes, Bordeaux, Dijon, Angers, etc.) which, in a “citizen” spirit, stand out for “fair prices”. And that’s about it. Despite inflation weighing heavily on family budgets, the overwhelming majority of funeral companies still respond to a traditional model dominated by two major brands: PFG and Roc’Eclerc.
“The public was not mature enough”
“We were a little too avant-garde,” said Jean-Christophe Alonzo, deputy general manager of the group. Udife, which manages Ecoplus Funéraire. A pioneer of low-cost stores in France, the brand, which made itself known by offering a package starting from 1,250 euros (1,790 euros today), has 22 agencies while it aimed to quickly have around a hundred there. ten years ago. “The goal was to address not only people without means but also those who wonder why put so much money into a one-day ceremony. But the public was not mature enough for this type of offering. The economic context was less tense than today. Relations with the other actors were also complicated at the start. »
“Digital players have not taken off as much as they imagined and overall the promise of finding a model allowing a real alternative to price has had no effect,” analyzes Gautier Caton, spokesperson for there national funeral federation (FNF). The reason is simple: all funeral companies are constrained by a heavy technical and logistical burden (staff, equipment, deposit, etc.). The price of a funeral also depends a lot on the location of the deceased, which can never be anticipated. We are also all subject to the same regulations regarding remuneration. It is therefore extremely difficult to make savings on this. And when we look at the reality of prices, the promise of cheaper funerals is sometimes just communication. »
“80% of brands prioritize their profitability and profit”
The professional federation, which considers that “most companies make pricing efforts, even if they do not advertise it”, also notes that the funeral market remains mainly “a local market”, with families remaining attached to “local actors”, without necessarily comparing prices. “When it comes to saying goodbye to a deceased person, not all families want to pay the lowest price at all costs,” emphasizes Gautier Caton.
Michel Kawnik, the president of the French funeral information association, which defends the interests of grieving families, confirms the importance of the choice of “proximity”. But the association above all points out the mercantile appeal of part of the profession. “Unfortunately, there are 80% of brands that do not respect commercial ethics and favor profitability and profit, to the detriment of the needs of families and the possibility of offering much more reasonable services,” judges Michel Kawnik.
At Ecoplus Funéraire, the economies of scale making it possible to guarantee “low prices” are mainly achieved on the surface area of the premises, the staff (no master of ceremonies, two pallbearers instead of four, etc.) and the limited choice of funeral products. , according to his direction. “We only have, for example, three models of coffins, made of pine, from 400 to 600 euros,” assures Jean-Christophe Alonzo, representative of the brand. The price of more elaborate coffins, with wood species considered more noble, can easily reach several thousand euros in most stores.
“An extremely limited number of companies offer low-cost coffins in their catalog even though these approved coffins are used absolutely everywhere in Europe,” says Michel Kawnik indignantly. There is an agreement and a funeral lobby in France which maintains a certain law of silence and does not allow families to be made aware of the existence of this type of product. » Overall, the French funeral information association recommends “taking the time necessary to select a funeral company” by asking systematically “several quotes”.
Investigation conducted in 2019 by UFC-Que Choisir reported an average cost of 3,815 euros for a burial, and 3,986 euros for a cremation, with “very large price variations” between the different operators studied. Taking into account inflation, the average cost would exceed 4,500 euros today. Observing the “increasing financial difficulties of families” in this inflationary context, the Ecoplus Funéraire network is considering opening around ten new stores in the short term. “The relationship to price has changed. This low-cost segment will develop,” Jean-Christophe Alonzo is convinced.
When requested, the OFG group did not respond to us.