Eric Lusain's funeral-supply business is expanding, and his customer base is even spreading from Downtown Cincinnati to the Deep South.
The real estate developer-turned-casket-dealer recently added distribution centers in Nashville and Birmingham to meet the regional demand for low-cost caskets that his company,
Main St. Caskets, just started meeting last year.
When he opened a showroom on Main Street last January, Lusain hoped to sell a few caskets each month. The business would beautify a vacant retail space he owned downtown, and earn extra cash for his real estate business. But with the help of an agressive Google campaign, Lusain's sales far outstripped his expectations, and stirred-up the funeral-supply industry in Cincinnati.
"I'm crushing the market," Lusain said. "This used to sell for $3,500 and I bring it in for a grand," he said, gesturing toward a casket on the show floor. "The more people know about it, it lowers the price. Some won't match, some do."
Main Street Caskets now offers
Pet Caskets, hand made by a master carpenter in his Main St. shop behind the casket showroom. This winter he carried mopeds, which recently sold-out.
Lusain said his customers don't mind the eclectic, contemporary feel of the space - they just like to save money. He said it was common for him to sell a headstone at his Main St. location to someone on a lunch break.
"You walk by and you see a marker sitting in the window for $350," he said. "You know that you haven't memorialized your mother or father because you can't afford to pay $1,500, but you come in here and it's just a quick swipe of a credit card."
Lusain understands how his customers feel - he started his company after becoming frustrated with the process of memorializing his late grandmother-in-law. He was inspired to make the process easier for others and said he does a lot of "counseling" over the telephone with his customers.
When his phone rang last week, a distressed woman from Mississippi told him she had to pay $2,000 for a white steel casket with red rose details. Lusain lists the exact same coffin for $899.
"You are not obligated to buy a casket from them," Lusain told her, referring to the funeral home she was using. "You've got rights."
Writer: Henry Sweets
Photography by Scott Beseler
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