Davis Funerals

What Davis Funerals does

Davis Funerals is a funeral services company operating across Auckland, New Zealand, with roots to 1875 and the Davis name held continuously since 1950 by the Little family. The company provides funeral arrangement services, embalming, cremation, international repatriation, pre-planning, and bereavement support to individual families. It operates five purpose-built branches covering Central (Mt Eden/Grange Manor), West (Henderson), East (Pakuranga), Eastern Bays (Kohimarama), and South Auckland (Papatoetoe), with chapels, family rooms, reception lounges, and an on-site eco-friendly crematorium at Henderson.

The product portfolio spans core funeral services (professional directing, caskets, urns, embalming, cremation, eco-friendly options), a wide range of memorial products (memorial books from $135, remembrance spheres $300–$510, touch stones $175+, fingerprint jewellery $180+, Reterniti cremation stones $680–$880, and a memorial space flight service at $3,000+), ancillary services (live streaming/webcasting at three chapels, a fleet of three Mercedes Benz E250 Oceania mild hybrid hearses plus Chrysler 300c and classic 1964 Cadillac hearses, and WINZ/ACC grant assistance), and a complimentary Bereavement Care Programme through The Grief Centre offering up to one year of post-funeral support.

Davis follows a sales-led go-to-market model with direct funeral director consultations via phone, email, 24/7 emergency line, and in-person branch visits, supported by a 1-hour callback commitment during business hours and a Chinese/Cantonese hotline. Professional service fees range from NZ$3,215 to $4,945 per service. Since May 2017, Davis has operated as a subsidiary of ASX-listed Propel Funeral Partners (ASX: PFP), with the Little family retaining executive roles: Craig Little as Managing Director of Propel Funeral Partners NZ and Neil Little as Non-executive Director. In January 2022, the company appointed Mike Powell as General Manager and rebranded to Davis Funeral Care to signal wrap-around care positioning. The company is registered with FDANZ and NZEA and is a Gold Partner of Hospice West Auckland.

Name

Davis Funerals

Legal name

Davis Funerals

Website

https://davisfunerals.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1875

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Davis Funerals is an Auckland-based funeral services company operating five branches across the region, providing funeral arrangements, cremation, embalming, repatriation, pre-planning, and bereavement support to individual families. A subsidiary of ASX-listed Propel Funeral Partners since 2017.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Funeral Services

NAICS

Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (812210), Funeral Homes and Funeral Services (81221)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Hospice-Affiliated/Independent) (HLADAHAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bereavement & Grief Support Services (Family Aftercare) (HSABAFAI), Bereavement, Grief & Family Support Services (Hospice-Linked) (HLAFAEAO)

Keywords

• Funeral services
• Cremation services
• Bereavement support
• Funeral pre-planning
• Memorial products

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Funeral services: Professional funeral directing services with fees typically ranging from $3,215–$4,945 for professional service fees, plus additional costs for venue, casket, burial/cremation, flowers, AV, and catering.
2. Memorial products: Sale of memorial items including memorial books ($135-$200), remembrance spheres ($300-$510), touch stones ($175+), fingerprint jewellery ($180+), cremation stones ($680+), and memorial space flight ($3,000+).
3. Pre-planning services: Pre-planning and pre-paying funeral services for future needs, providing peace of mind to customers.
4. Financial assistance processing: Assistance with WINZ and ACC funeral grant applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Davis Funerals provides end-to-end funeral services including funeral directing, embalming, cremation, casket and urn selection, ceremony coordination, and grief counselling across five Auckland branches. The company additionally sells memorial products (books, remembrance spheres, touch stones, fingerprint jewellery, cremation stones, memorial space flight), offers pre-planning and pre-payment services, and coordinates international repatriation.

Product overview

Davis Funerals is a funeral services company offering a comprehensive portfolio of funeral-related products and services across Auckland, New Zealand. The core offering centres on complete funeral arrangement services including funeral directing, embalming, casket and urn selection, and ceremony coordination. The company operates five funeral homes across Auckland regions (Central, East, Eastern Bays, West, and South Auckland) and provides ancillary services including pre-planning, repatriation, grief counselling, eco-friendly funeral options, and funeral financing assistance. Memorial products include memorial books, remembrance spheres, touch stones, memorial jewellery (pendants, bracelets), and unique offerings such as memorial space flight and Reterniti cremation stones. Additional services include live streaming/webcasting, fleet of funeral vehicles (Mercedes Benz, Chrysler, Cadillac hearses), and a bereavement care programme delivered through the Grief Centre.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Funeral Arrangement Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Grief counselling support available for up to one year through partner Grief Centre with free counselling sessions at 7 Auckland locations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hospice West AucklandcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 August 2024Gold Partnership agreement signed in August 2024. Davis Funerals is a long-standing partner of Hospice West Auckland. Partnership includes support for Rongoā Māori garden at Hospice West Auckland, created in partnership with CHT St Margarets. Davis gifted planting around water feature in the garden. Participation in palliative care study days at North Shore Hospital alongside Te Whatu Ora Waitemata.
• FDANZ (Funeral Directors Association of New Zealand)coreOthersRegistered members of FDANZ, demonstrating commitment to industry standards and adherence to highest quality, service and care standards.
• NZEA (New Zealand Embalmers Association)coreOthersRegistered members of NZEA, the national body that recognises and sets qualifications in embalming practices.
• Funeral Service Training Trust of New Zealand (FSTT)minorOthersIndustry Training Organisation for funeral industry in New Zealand, among first to be accredited when ITOs were created in early 1990s.
• The Grief CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerComplimentary Bereavement Care Programme offered through partnership with The Grief Centre. Provides support worker access for up to one year, free counselling sessions at 7 Auckland locations, support groups, grief resources and library access.
• Auckland Philharmonia OrchestracoreGTM or Marketing Partner13-year partnership as sponsor. Extension confirmed for further year. Includes 'In Your Neighbourhood' concert series bringing classical music to communities. Partnership supports community cultural engagement.
• Dress for SuccessminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDavis Cup Golf Day charity partner in 2019 to raise funds for Dress for Success South Auckland branch opening.
• Waiheke Community Art GalleryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsorship renewal for long-standing association with community and families in Waiheke at times of need.
• Gattings (catering)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerExperienced in-house caterers for funeral receptions and refreshments after services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium: Major Auckland crematorium and cemetery operator. Overlaps with Davis at the cremation and burial-disposition layer but does not provide end-to-end funeral direction, distinguishing it from Davis's full-stack model.

Direct peers

• Beth Shan Funerals: Auckland-based full-service funeral home providing funeral directing, caskets, repatriation, and bereavement support. Directly competes with Davis across most of the same Auckland suburbs and overlaps in service breadth.
• Mansell Ebbett Funeral Directors: Heritage Auckland funeral home offering full-service funerals, cremations, and pre-planning. Comparable in scale, multi-branch coverage, and service mix to Davis.
• Simplicity Funerals (NZ): New Zealand low-cost funeral chain operating across Auckland suburbs. Competes in the same geographic market with a simpler, lower-priced value proposition — relevant peer because it pressure-tests Davis's premium positioning.
• Lyttelton & Co. Funeral Directors: Well-established Auckland funeral director with comparable service portfolio (arrangements, embalming, cremation, memorial products). Competes head-to-head with Davis in the central and eastern Auckland catchment.

Broad incumbents

• InvoCare: Australia's largest funeral operator and Propel's main ANZ peer at parent-group level. Comparable category leadership, multi-brand portfolio, and pre-planning platforms, useful for sizing the addressable market Davis operates in.
• Propel Funeral Partners: ASX-listed parent company (ASX: PFP) of Davis Funerals since May 2017. Operates funeral homes across Australia and New Zealand, making it directly comparable in business model and category while being substantially larger and broader-geography.

Others

• The Grief Centre: Bereavement support partner that delivers the free counselling program Davis offers families. Not a competitor; thematically related grief-care provider in the same Auckland catchment.
• Gattings Catering: Davis's in-house / partner caterer for funeral receptions. Adjacent ecosystem participant, comparable only at the level of funeral-adjacent service provision rather than core competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DavisFunerals
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/davis-funerals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Davis Funerals