Curves International

Curves International, also known as Curves for Women, Curves Fitness, or just Curves, is an international fitness franchise co-founded by Gary and Diane Heavin in 1995. Curves currently has 10,000 locations worldwide and an estimated 4 million plus members (as of October 2006). It is a privately held company by its co-founders, with corporate offices located in Waco, Texas. Curves fitness and weight loss facilities are designed specifically for and focused on women, although in some states, men are allowed to join.

History
Curves was founded by Gary Heavin and Diane Heavin. They opened their first Curves in Harlingen, Texas in 1992. This new concept of 30-minute fitness, strength training, weight-loss guidance, and an environment designed for women, was immediately successful. They began to develop plans for franchising the concept, with the first opening in 1995. Curves claims it is the world's largest fitness franchise and was recently recognized as one of the 10 largest franchise companies in the world. According to Curves International Inc's fact sheet, Curves achieved 6,000 franchises in 7 years. Curves facilities are located in over 44 countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, the Caribbean, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Japan.

Curves fitness and weight loss facilities are designed specifically for and focused on women, although today many of the centers allow men to join. The program is designed around circuit training which utilizes hydraulic resistance equipment to achieve results. The strength training regimen is combined with cardiovascular training for a full body workout.

Research at Baylor University
In 2002, the Exercise & Sports Nutrition Laboratory at Baylor University began researching the efficacy of the Curves fitness and weight loss program. Curves awarded the ESNL a $5 million, five-year grant to start the Curves Women's Health Initiative.

The mission of the initiative is to examine the short and long-term efficacy of the Curves fitness and weight loss programs, identify ways to optimize the Curves program through various diet, exercise, and/or nutritional interventions; and examine ways to improve the health and well-being of women.

Among the research findings: the Curves program seems to be effective in increasing calories burned at rest, reducing the symptoms of osteoarthritis, and helping women lose weight and maintain weight loss. A study of the effect of calcium supplements on weight loss showed that calcium might aid weight loss by preventing the release of fat-storing hormones that are usually released when a person reduces calories enough to promote weight loss.

Results of completed studies have been published in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal, Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, Sports Nutrition Review Journal, and Nutrition and Metabolism.

Gary Heavin's charitable contributions
In 2004, Curves International and its franchisees received some mixed and unwanted publicity stemming from articles about the charitable contributions of founder Gary Heavin.

In an interview with Today's Christian, Heavin was quoted as saying that he donates money to "pro-life pregnancy-care centers".

The San Francisco Chronicle printed an article by feminist Ruth Rosen, accusing Heavin of supporting militant anti-abortion groups. However, in an open letter to the Chronicle, Heavin challenged and rebutted Rosen's article. The Chronicle later corrected the misinformation reported by Rosen.

Numerous blogs picked up the erroneous version of the story, and several other articles on the subject subsequently appeared in other mainstream media. The publicity affected business at some individual franchises, particularly in the U.S. West Coast region (specifically California) and a few in the Atlantic Northeast and Pacific Northwest, causing an uproar from franchisees of Curves International.

Although the errors were corrected, business was affected, with memberships down and some franchisees severing their ties with Curves.

Buyout-related lawsuit
Another controversy came into play in 2005 when six Plaintiffs brought a suit against Curves, Gary Heavin and Roger Schmidt (Company attorney) for $20 million. The plaintiffs claimed that Heavin cheated them out of their share of profits in which he and Roger Schmidt pressured them to sign a buyout contract alloting them a fraction of what they might have earned.

Awards and recognition

 * Number 1 Best New Franchise - Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
 * Number 2 Best Franchise Overall - Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
 * The World's Fastest Growing Franchise Entrepreneur Magazine (two years in a row)
 * The World's Fastest Growing Franchise in History - Reuters News Service
 * Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 - Ernst & Young
 * Gold Effy Award - American Marketing Association
 * Visionary of the Year 2004 - International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association
 * World's Largest Fitness Center Franchise - Guinness World Records
 * Number 15 Best Franchise Overall - 2007 Franchise 500 Rankings, Entrepreneur Magazine
 * America's Top Global Franchises - #7 (2007); #3 (2006); #2 (2005); #2 (2004)
 * Ranked #1 in category in - (2007), (2006), (2005), (2004), (2003)
 * Franchise 500® rank - #15 (2007); #3 (2006); #2 (2005); #2 (2004); #2 (2003)
 * Entrepreneur's Fastest-Growing Franchises - #23 (2007); #5 (2006); #1 (2005); #2 (2004); #1 (2003);

In popular culture
Curves has been parodied in The Simpsons, in the episode entitled Husbands and Knives, in which Marge opens a successful franchise of a gym called Shapes, and in a recent episode of South Park entitled D-Yikes!.

External links and sources

 * Curves International
 * American Executive Spotlight
 * Profile from Franchise Magazine
 * Curves news gives women's choices a workout
 * Company's Fact Sheet
 * Curves Franchise News Aggregated
 * Entrepreneur.com, Inc. Franchise 500® 2005 Rankings
 * Fastest Growing
 * Company Background