The funeral market - Italy

Funeral Homes: they have all the necessary equipment for every aspect of the funeral service. Funeral Agencies: do not have their own equipment, they simply plan the ceremony by renting or buying from third parties the necessary equipment to meet the needs of their clients.

Funeral products (manufacture of headstones, monuments and flowers).

In Italy, the ceremony is generally religious (Catholic-influenced) and standardized in its structure, consisting of a few basic formal and traditional steps that do not leave much room for customization by the client, although complementary services (funeral furniture, type of headdress and related accessories, obituary, secular or religious rites, flowers, etc.) must also be included. The funeral market is closely linked to structural demographic changes in the Italian population. This is partly reflected in the increase in funeral service turnover as the population continues to age in this country. But this growth has its limits. In fact, the industry now faces problems such as competition from low-cost alternatives from abroad, especially for coffin manufacturers, regional and local regulations that are not harmonized with each other and with national regulations. In addition, an industry-specific problem is related to the growing popularity of cremation and secular practices that have led to a reduction in average spending on cemeteries and burials. Finally, the funeral industry also faces opportunities and threats related to digitization and new social media trends. However, some large companies such as Taffo and SVE have learned to take advantage of these new trends. The former has embraced digitization and implemented a strong advertising campaign on online channels, and the latter has successfully implemented cremation services to meet growing demand by leveraging its national network of funeral and related businesses. The data suggest a gradual concentration of the industry, as also evidenced by recent acquisitions by the HOFI Group (Impresa San Siro in 2019 and AROF in 2023).