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Despite the failure of a previous business, bankruptcy and divorce, Gary Heavin went on to found Curves, a women-only gym with a low overhead mantra. Curves International makes over $2 billion annually, and has over 10,000 locations and 4 million members.
curves’ success story
- At age 20, pre-med student Gary Heavin took over a failing conventional gym in Houston. Within five years he opened up six more gyms; in ten years he had seventeen, but his business soon went under as he expanded too quickly and was forced to declare bankruptcy.
- In 1992, Heavin made a second attempt and opened up Curves for Women, a fitness center in Harlingen, TX. Learning from his past mistakes, Heavin’s business model stressed low-overhead costs. He restricted machines to a simple fitness circuit, reduced the hours of operation and made it available to women only.
- Curves sold 100 memberships in its first week of operations, easily recouping Heavin’s initial $10,000 investment. Encouraged by success, Heavin and his second wife Diane opened their second location in 1994, and were making approximately $250,000 a year.
- In 1995, Heavin decided to offer Curves franchising; by 1996 there were 44 gyms, and by 1997 there were 247. Franchises nearly doubled every year thereafter, and by 2004 there were over 8,000 locations.
- Today, Curves International has over 10,000 locations and can be found in 60 countries. The company grossed $2.63 billion in 2004 with 160 employees and 4 million members.
did you know…
- … it only took Curves seven years to open up 6,000 franchise locations, compared to the 25 years it took McDonald’s and Subways? There are 1.5 Curves for every McDonald’s in America; it’s also the 6th largest franchise in the US.
- … Curves centers are much smaller and intimate than conventional gyms? Each location occupies approximately 1,200 square feet with 10 to 12 machines; compare this to regular gyms which are 50,000 square feet in size. Curves members follow a 30-minute workout, and rotate machines based on a soundtrack.
- … Heavin actually served a short time in jail? After his first fitness business failed, he went through a divorce and was subsequently unable to pay for child support.
- … Curves was partially inspired by Gary Heavin’s mother, who died when he was only 13? She was overweight and suffered from high blood pressure. The target audience for Curves is older, female and overweight.
- … according to a formula developed by the company, a town of 10,000 can sustain 400 Curves members? This is coincidentally the size of an average Curves club.
- … the fee for a Curves franchise is relatively low? A franchise starts at $29,900 + 5% gross (capped at $795/month), while the equipment costs $3,000-$5,000. The US market is fairly saturated, but interested parties can also purchase existing locations for an average of $120,000.
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