CoolHandDuke -- a modern aristides
2004-08-17 21:22:51 UTC
Updated: 03:51 PM EDT
Costco Begins Test Marketing Caskets
By DON BABWIN, AP
CHICAGO (Aug. 17) - Whether you're in the market for a good night's sleep or
the eternal kind, one store at least has you covered.
Costco Wholesale Corp., better known for bulk chicken and cases of soda,
started test marketing caskets alongside mattresses at a North Side Chicago
store Monday. They're also being sold at a suburban Oak Brook store.
''This is certainly something that can be an easy value,'' said Gina Bianche, a
buyer in Costco's corporate office in Issaquah, Wash. ''I don't want to say
cheap value, but it just needs to be done.''
Each of the six models from the Universal Casket Co., in colors including lilac
and Neapolitan blue, is priced at $799.99, made of 18-gauge steel, considered
medium weight for caskets, and can be delivered within 48 hours.
Caskets can already be purchased directly from manufacturers, in funeral supply
stores and over the Internet, but big general merchandise stores had stayed
away from selling caskets until now, said David Walkinshaw, a spokesman for the
National Funeral Directors Association.
At a Costco on Chicago's North Side, shoppers checking out the new casket kiosk
Monday seemed to like the idea that the same store where they buy so many
things for this life was branching into the afterlife.
''A casket at Costco, yeah, I think it's pretty bizarre,'' said Inga Barth, 53.
She wondered about buying a casket with only a kiosk and small samples of the
caskets' material to look over, though, saying, ''When you go casket shopping,
you want to see the whole thing.''
That didn't trouble John Neuhaus.
''I want the adjustable bed and mattress for my neck,'' he joked, pointing to
one of the features highlighted at the kiosk. After all, he said, ''It says
eternal rest.''
Others liked the idea of being able to shop for the casket long before a loved
one's death. Too often, that is a time when the survivors are distressed, under
time constraints and may feel they are at the mercy of funeral homes.
''I remember my mom was supposed to get a plain pine box for my dad and she
walked out with mahogany,'' said Gretchen Henninger.
Those involved in arranging funerals were not as enthusiastic about discount
retailers moving in on their business, especially one with 42 million
cardholders and 324 locations in 36 states.
''If you take the casket out of the equation and the casket is purchased in a
retail environment, then that portion of the funeral director's profit center
will disappear and the funeral director must respond to that,'' said George
Lemke, executive director of the Casket and Funeral Supply Association.
Asked if that meant raising prices, he replied: ''That's entirely possible.''
Costco is prepared for that, said Fred Elsner, general manager of the North
Side store. When casket buyers dial the phone number on the brochure, ''We will
put them in touch with funeral homes that are part of the program,'' he said.
The brochure says buyers can cut their overall funeral costs by more than 30
percent that way. But Lemke said the funeral home working with Costco might not
be the one the family planned to deal with.
While caskets can costs several thousand dollars, some funeral homes do sell
them for even less than Costco is charging, he said.
Walkinshaw, who also works as a funeral director in the Boston area, said he
has caskets ranging from $350 to about $8,000. He also thinks Costco won't cut
into the business of funeral homes.
''Other people have tried and found out the public is real comfortable buying
caskets from funeral directors,'' he said. ''It's kind of one-stop shopping.''
Bonnie Busch, vice president in Costco's Midwest division, hopes shoppers will
make one more stop. ''I hope they don't have any deaths in the family, but if
they do I hope we can help people out,'' she said.
AP-NY-08-17-04 0447EDT
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
To be a political conservative is to be intellectually
constipated and morally myopic.
* http://www.johnkerry.com *
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
Costco Begins Test Marketing Caskets
By DON BABWIN, AP
CHICAGO (Aug. 17) - Whether you're in the market for a good night's sleep or
the eternal kind, one store at least has you covered.
Costco Wholesale Corp., better known for bulk chicken and cases of soda,
started test marketing caskets alongside mattresses at a North Side Chicago
store Monday. They're also being sold at a suburban Oak Brook store.
''This is certainly something that can be an easy value,'' said Gina Bianche, a
buyer in Costco's corporate office in Issaquah, Wash. ''I don't want to say
cheap value, but it just needs to be done.''
Each of the six models from the Universal Casket Co., in colors including lilac
and Neapolitan blue, is priced at $799.99, made of 18-gauge steel, considered
medium weight for caskets, and can be delivered within 48 hours.
Caskets can already be purchased directly from manufacturers, in funeral supply
stores and over the Internet, but big general merchandise stores had stayed
away from selling caskets until now, said David Walkinshaw, a spokesman for the
National Funeral Directors Association.
At a Costco on Chicago's North Side, shoppers checking out the new casket kiosk
Monday seemed to like the idea that the same store where they buy so many
things for this life was branching into the afterlife.
''A casket at Costco, yeah, I think it's pretty bizarre,'' said Inga Barth, 53.
She wondered about buying a casket with only a kiosk and small samples of the
caskets' material to look over, though, saying, ''When you go casket shopping,
you want to see the whole thing.''
That didn't trouble John Neuhaus.
''I want the adjustable bed and mattress for my neck,'' he joked, pointing to
one of the features highlighted at the kiosk. After all, he said, ''It says
eternal rest.''
Others liked the idea of being able to shop for the casket long before a loved
one's death. Too often, that is a time when the survivors are distressed, under
time constraints and may feel they are at the mercy of funeral homes.
''I remember my mom was supposed to get a plain pine box for my dad and she
walked out with mahogany,'' said Gretchen Henninger.
Those involved in arranging funerals were not as enthusiastic about discount
retailers moving in on their business, especially one with 42 million
cardholders and 324 locations in 36 states.
''If you take the casket out of the equation and the casket is purchased in a
retail environment, then that portion of the funeral director's profit center
will disappear and the funeral director must respond to that,'' said George
Lemke, executive director of the Casket and Funeral Supply Association.
Asked if that meant raising prices, he replied: ''That's entirely possible.''
Costco is prepared for that, said Fred Elsner, general manager of the North
Side store. When casket buyers dial the phone number on the brochure, ''We will
put them in touch with funeral homes that are part of the program,'' he said.
The brochure says buyers can cut their overall funeral costs by more than 30
percent that way. But Lemke said the funeral home working with Costco might not
be the one the family planned to deal with.
While caskets can costs several thousand dollars, some funeral homes do sell
them for even less than Costco is charging, he said.
Walkinshaw, who also works as a funeral director in the Boston area, said he
has caskets ranging from $350 to about $8,000. He also thinks Costco won't cut
into the business of funeral homes.
''Other people have tried and found out the public is real comfortable buying
caskets from funeral directors,'' he said. ''It's kind of one-stop shopping.''
Bonnie Busch, vice president in Costco's Midwest division, hopes shoppers will
make one more stop. ''I hope they don't have any deaths in the family, but if
they do I hope we can help people out,'' she said.
AP-NY-08-17-04 0447EDT
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+
To be a political conservative is to be intellectually
constipated and morally myopic.
* http://www.johnkerry.com *
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+