This U.S. Funeral Giant Tried to Take Over Australia - It Backfired Spectacularly

How SCI’s $50 Million Funeral Takeover in Australia Fell Flat on Its Face

In the 1990s, a U.S. funeral behemoth thought it could “McDonaldize” the grieving process down under. What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty, it turns out.

Meet SCI: America’s Deathcare Giant
Service Corporation International (SCI) is the largest funeral provider in the United States. With a sprawling network of funeral homes, crematoriums, and cemeteries, they’ve made death big business. Backed by deep pockets and an aggressive expansion mindset, SCI believed their polished, corporate model could be easily exported to Australia.

They were wrong.

SCI’s Corporate Gamble in Australia
SCI quietly entered Australia by buying up family-run funeral homes and rebranding them under their American model. At one point, they controlled over 20% of the Australian funeral market. But instead of admiration, they were met with skepticism, outrage, and eventually — failure.

Why?

Because they misunderstood everything that mattered: the culture, the industry, and the people.

Watch the full video below

Australia Isn’t America — Especially When It Comes to Death
Unlike the U.S., where large chains dominate, Australia’s funeral industry in the 90s was deeply local and personal. Australians valued community-run funeral homes, familiar faces, and respectful, understated services. SCI’s approach — polished sales tactics, upselling, and uniform branding — felt cold, intrusive, and inauthentic.

What SCI saw as professional, many Aussies saw as plastic.

Aggressive Tactics, Backlash, and a Media Storm
SCI’s pushy sales style, foreign branding, and price hikes rubbed people the wrong way. Funeral services, once based on relationships, began to feel transactional. Communities noticed. Journalists picked it up. The backlash grew.

Australian media didn’t hold back, and grieving families began to take their business elsewhere. What was meant to be a quiet corporate takeover quickly became a public embarrassment.

The Fallout: $50 Million Lost and a Retreat
Within a few years, SCI’s Australian experiment collapsed. They pulled out, losing an estimated $50 million in the process. Their retreat helped pave the way for what would become today’s Australian funeral giant: InvoCare — an Australian-owned company that learned from SCI’s mistakes but used a slower, more culturally aware approach to consolidation.

The Lesson: You Can’t Franchise Grief
SCI’s failure is more than a business case study — it’s a cultural one. It’s a reminder that grief is deeply human and intensely local. You can’t just slap a corporate model onto a centuries-old tradition and expect people to embrace it.

This story isn’t just about one company’s failure. It’s a warning to any business that thinks they can bulldoze into a new country with money and models, but without humility or understanding.

Death is universal. But how we mourn? That’s personal.

If you're struggling with a death related issue and need guidance, we offer consultations to support you through the journey.

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