Business Opportunities Weblog

February 23, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

CityNews:

Vic Fearn and Company is a 160-year-old English business that makes coffins. That doesn’t sound terribly exciting, but recent customers may make you think twice.

They’ve been coming in asking for exotic caskets to be buried in to reflect their passions in life.

It started with an odd request from a woman who was a big fan of the Royal Air Force’s acrobatic team the Red Arrows. She wanted to be interred forever in a model of one of their fighters.

“We constructed this plane with folding wings like they have on aircraft carriers,” recalls company director David Crampton. “The cockpit of a plane is more or less coffin-shaped so that made life easier.”

Once word spread about the custom casket, more people decided to plan for their own demise and do it Frank Sinatra-style – my way.

Another coffin resembles a large sports bag, a demand from a cricket fan. It comes with its own wickets.

You’ll pay a lot extra for these final resting places, but they’ve become something of a sensation in Europe. So much so that many have been put on display in touring shows at art galleries.

And it’s one business that will never die.

Photo by CityNews.

In Humor | 1 Comment
Tags: Niche, Sales