Casket Business Booms As Dealers Offer Credit Facility To Clients

CYRIACUS IZUEKWE

Things may seem to be hard for average Nigerians because of the economic recession but  casket dealers smile everyday to their banks over boom in the business.

P.M.EXPRESS confirmed from some of the dealers who revealed that they now offer credit facilities to their clients but slightly increased their prices because of demand and regular sales.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that the reasons for the boom in business were not farfetched as many people who spoke on the matter said it was because of the high rate of deaths.
Though, there were no real data to determine the rate of deaths in Nigeria, but there was a  consensus that there was a sudden rise in rate of deaths.

Consequently, the price of caskets have gone up but were made affordable to customers by the dealers by trying to ameliorate the situation for bereaved families by offering credit facilities.
Checks on the prices showed that the price had slightly gone up to between N25,000 to N1.5m depending on the status of the buyer or family.

Some of dealers who did not want their names published claimed that unlike in the past, the caskets were sold between N15,000 and N250,000 but have gone up due to high demands.
One of the dealers at Agege identified as Mike (surname withheld) said, “this period is one of the best times casket dealers were really enjoying in terms of economic gains.”

He said that they do not wish people to die but they know people will still die anyway. He however quipped that they did not envisage that there will be such increase in the number. He said with the innovation in casket business, clients were willing to pay not minding the increase in price.
Mike said he was not too surprised at the rate that people were dying because there had been enormous stress, frustrations and disappointments, and many have suffered heartbreaks and died. He further said that some had fallen sick but they did not have money to treat themselves and they died in the process and they must be buried as the burden to bury the dead was the living.

Another dealer, Mr Tunde whose office is located at Ajao Estate said that caskets do not have fixed prices and they depended on the dealer and the status of clients at a particular time.
Tunde, popularly called Mr.T said that he was sure of making sales everyday with reasonable profit but that they were not out to exploit their clients because of their nature of business.
He said sometimes their clients might need the casket to bury family members but had no money to buy because of the expenses they already incurred. He said in such instance they usually offer the clients credit facility and allowed them to carry the coffin and bring money later.

He said that they have added new dimensions to the business, like the introduction of undertakers and pallbearers who try to make mourning to look like joyful events and thereby placate bereaved families.