Franchise News

If Victor Erwin has his way, families throughout Texas will soon have a convenient, affordable and common sense alternative to the outrageously high costs of burying a loved one.

Erwin has acquired U.S. rights to Personal Alternative Funeral Services (PAFS), which provides all of the usual services of a traditional funeral home, but at 30 to 50 percent less cost. And, more significantly, PAFS provides those services on a much more personal basis.

PAFS has enjoyed dramatic success and dynamic growth in Canada in just seven years. Erwin expects to open five Personal Alternative Franchises in Dallas-Fort Worth over the next three years and plans call for 36 throughout the Southwest.

"The average cost of a funeral in the United States has soared in just the past five years," said Erwin, who was Executive Vice President of Golden Franchising Corporation in Dallas. "This is largely due to the domination of corporate funeral chains in many markets. The reality is that most people cannot afford to bury a relative or a friend without placing themselves in serious financial jeopardy."

So, what's the alternative? A PAFS licensed funeral director makes the final arrangements in the comfort, convenience and security of the family's own home. This not only mitigates the need for the family to visit a funeral home but also eliminates their exposure to the commercial pressure to spend beyond the family's means. PAFS then uses community churches and chapels for the Funeral or Memorial Service.

"PAFS operates a fully licensed funeral home that is right-sized for the new millennium. A consumer no longer needs to support an expensive 'traditional' funeral home occupying a square city block of prime commercial real estate to have a funeral, " said PAFS founder Lawrence Little. "Our philosophy keeps the overhead low while providing the personal attention that people deserve in the time of such need."

"The funeral industry in the United States is controlled by a few major consolidators who are buying up neighborhood funeral homes at an alarming rate and, as a result, the consumer is faced with outrageous prices at a time when they are most vulnerable," Erwin said. "By keeping the ownership independent through our franchisees, we don't have to answer to the shareholders of a mega-funeral chain trading on the New York Stock Exchange. All of this means that PAFS passes significant savings along to the consumer."

The first Personal Alternative funeral home was established in 1992 in Vancouver and in just seven years already owns more than 10 percent of the Vancouver market share. Erwin is currently interviewing candidates for the Dallas and Fort Worth markets and expects the first funeral home to be in business by June.