Curves, the women-only 30-minute fitness franchise, once boasted it was the fastest growing franchise chain in history.
Curves now has the dubious distinction of probably being the fastest-failing franchise chain as well.
According to the company’s franchise disclosure document filings, Curves grew to a record 7,877 U.S. franchise locations in 2005.
Just six years later, the Curves system had fallen to just 3523 clubs.
The women’s fitness chain shrunk by more than 50%, a total loss of 4354 U.S. clubs.
Thousands of once-hopeful Curves franchise owners suffered severe personal and financial losses as a result of their failed clubs.
Many who closed prematurely suffered the additional indignity of being harrassed and sued for thousands of dollars in “failure fees” and liquidated damages by Curves International, even after they had lost their entire investments.
(See more than 1000 comments from Curves franchisees here: Curves Franchise Complaints.)
Are you familiar with the Curves franchise? Please share a comment below.
Curves founder Gary Heavin opened the first Curves club in 1992 in Harlingen, Texas, and the first independently owned and operated Curves opened in Paris, Texas, in 1995. The Curves website currently boasts of its rapid growth, fueled by the personal investments of owner-operator franchisees:
Curves caught on like wildfire and opened clubs at an astronomical rate, sometimes more than doubling its number of locations from year to year. This was all done by word of mouth until Curves launched its award-winning national advertising campaign in 2003. What took McDonalds 25 years and Subway 26 years to do—open 7,000 locations—Curves did in under a decade.
The “History” section of the Curves website does not mention that more than half of those locations would close just as quickly.
Franchisees complain that the company failed to innovate, failed to adapt to the changing economy, and failed to keep women interested in the dated, limited workout. Many charge that, during its growth frenzy, Curves oversold and overexpanded, selling clubs in hopelessly small, unsustainable markets and allowing franchisees to cannibalize each other’s sales.
The Curves growth frenzy and subsequent decline spawned a secondary market of Curves “resales,” established Curves franchises sold from original or 2nd or 3rd franchise owners to new owners. When Curves was hot, many owners unloaded their clubs on hopeful new owners for prices that would prove to be exorbitant. As Curves’ struggles became more apparent, many franchisees had trouble selling their clubs at bargain prices as low as $1.00.
CHART: Curves Franchise Resales (Transfers)
| Year | Transfers (Resales) | Difference from prior year | Total Franchise Outlets | Difference from prior year |
| 2000 | 191 | 1258 | ||
| 2001 | 214 | 23 | 2221 | 963 |
| 2002 | 281 | 67 | 3903 | 1682 |
| 2003 | 421 | 140 | 6019 | 2116 |
| 2004 | 729 | 308 | 7419 | 1400 |
| 2005 | 890 | 161 | 7877 | 458 |
| 2006 | 1267 | 377 | 7746 | (131) |
| 2007 | 1069 | (198) | 7090 | (656) |
| 2008 | 792 | (277) | 6247 | (843) |
| 2009 | 552 | (240) | 5214 | (1033) |
| 2010 | 379 | (173) | 4387 | (827) |
| 2011 | 318 | (61) | 3523 | (864) |
In comments on the widespread closures, the management of this private and notoriously non-communicative company blame Curves franchisees for the franchise failures.
In 2009, CEO Gary Heavin was quoted as saying that high SBA loan defaults of Curves franchisee loans were a result of “the overpriced resales of franchises between third parties.” (Source: CURVES: Franchise Resale Buyer Alleges Fraud).
In 2010, then-President Mike Raymond was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that the widespread closures were the result of a corporate effort to “prune the system” to correct the damage from greedy franchisees. According to the Curves WSJ story:
Franchisees and industry experts point to a failure to keep up with changing trends—including more flexible hours for busy working women—cheaper competition and the tough economy as major reasons for Curves’ decline.
The company disagrees with its critics, contending that much of the club closings were intended as part of a plan to “prune the system,” according to Curves President Mike Raymond. Some owners had bought into Curves for the wrong reasons, he says, “they were motivated primarily as investors rather than owners.”
UnhappyFranchisee.com has been covering the troubles and decline of Curves for years. See CURVES: Curves Posts on Unhappy Franchisee.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR GARY HEAVIN, CURVES INTERNATIONAL & THE CURVES FRANCHISE? PLEASE SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
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View Comments
I really liked Curves and was sorry to see our local Curves (Yakima, WA & Selah, WA) close. Visited my son in Whitney TX and went there & also to one in Montana while we were on vacation.
Would join in a minute if there were a local Curves.
got the lifetime access to their meal planning but that's gone too - had some great recipes.
I MISS CURVES!!!
Curves was hurt by the expandiing knowledge that its owner used corporate profits to fund fake abotion clinics. women stopped going or created jars for planned parenthood. The exposes made many women feel this so-called Christian gym was a front for and an adjunct to the anti-abortion movement
Curves was hurt by the expandiing knowledge that its owner used corporate profits to fund fake abotion clinics. women stopped going or created jars for planned parenthood. The exposes made many women feel this so-called Christian gym was a front for and an adjunct to the campaign to end women's choices about their bodies.
My name is Sarah Braswell and I owned a Curves from 2002 to 2012. I fulfilled my contract with Curves and was looking for a buyer but nobody would step up to buy. At that time in our little town we had 5 or more small gyms started, two of which gave free memberships to medical folks and a country club that offered free membership to its members. Competition was great but we still had a great club and could pay our bills without a problem! My only reason for giving the club up was because I had turned 72 and didn’t feel I needed to sign another contract for another 10 years. Today I meet many of my members in various places and they always say “I miss my Curves”. Was a member before I bought so I knew the basics of Curves and was very excited to buy into it. The previous owner was very helpful in the transfer of ownership and eventually even worked for me as a coach as she also was working for Curves International. They had programs for owners that was very beneficial in running your Curves! Being a good owner and manager was up to you to make your business work. Will never blame Curves International for my business declining. Yes some days or months were hard but adjustments were made for those hard times and we survived! My only regret was not being able to sell my Curves and having to just close my doors. Only good memories of my Curves life. Thank you Curves for letting me be a part of Curves.
The Curves closed in my town. I would go 5 days a week. Someone said that Planet Fitness had the same machines. I tried going there but it wasn’t the same. At Curves I had the company of other women, who I grew to know. At Planet Fitness, there are men! I don’t want to exercise with men lurking around my shoulders!
I'm doing some research into purchasing a Curves under their new owner and CEO Krishea Holloway. I too, was a member of Curves back in the 2010 era, then had to move away where there wasn't another one. By the time I moved to a place that did have one they were literally shutting their doors the following week. I was heartbroken. That was 10 years ago. Now I am 50 and wanting to work on strength training again, and like many women, refuse to go to a regular gym. I want a community of women who know what it's like to experience the changes women go through and not have to worry about being watched or judged by anyone. I'm thankful I found this website and also thankful to know that North Castle has finally sold. I would love to be a part of reviving Curves. It was such a wonderful place to go for fitness and I believe it would do really well in my area. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences. I will have some good background info for my franchise exploratory call with the company next week. Wish me the best!
Katherine:
Best of luck to you with your due diligence. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or areas of concern.
Please give us an update on what you learn about the current state of Curves under the new ownership.
It's been quite a journey with Curves... hope its going in a healthier direction than it has in the past.
All the best,
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