Marketing Term - Research Paper Example

Curves International Fitness for Women: A Marketing Case Study Introduction Curves International Fitness for Women is a company that has broken records, crossed seemingly impregnable boundaries, and created a worldwide business that supports the needs of an underdeveloped demographic. The company exploit’s the over 40 market of women who have need of fitness programs. The company is an international business which has spread to over 70 companies and exceeded the franchise expansion programs of some of the top franchise opportunities in the world. Through engaging the consumer in a dialogue that promotes community and goodwill, there was no advertising campaigns until 2004, the company depending on word of mouth to promote its interests and gain a following. That following measures more than 4 million members, worldwide (Bloomberg). The marketing that has been engaged since 2004 has seen some turmoil with the perceived competitor, Weight Watchers, being directly confronted in a campaign, but the adversary fought back with a court injunction which ended that campaign. However, it might be concluded that Curves gained better publicity as being put in a position as a threat to Weight Watchers, so much so that they were directly confronted through legal action to shut down their advertising. This is a wise strategy, however, the company may soon face the same problems that Weight Watchers faces, which is as their targeted demographic ages out and the rising younger set sees them as a dinosaur of their mother’s age, combating a dated image will create an issue. Weight Watchers has confronted their problems through advertising that mimics the Jenny Craig advertising, using celebrities to promote their success through publicly visible weight loss on their programs. However, where Jenny Craig has used a middle aged set of celebrities, Weight Watchers used Jennifer Hudson to kick off their campaign, a decidedly younger star. This leaves curves facing the same problems as Weight Watchers in that through promoting a socialized setting, the age group becomes relevant to the attraction to the program. The following assessment will discuss the current and past methods of marketing that have been introduced for Curves. The background of the company will be given an overview in order to provide context in understanding the nature of the current standing of the company. An analysis of the marketing strategies and their results will be assessed for the successes and failures that have been experienced. A SWOT analysis will then be conducted in order to provide an overview of the nature of the company in regard to how it will impact a marketing plan. The SWOT analysis will be addressed for the ways in which it can be utilized to address the future of the company. Finally, a summary of the marketing direction of Curves will be made with recommendations for addressing weaknesses and threats through exploiting the strengths and opportunities that are present. Background Curves International Fitness for Women has franchises in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia and Asia. The company has well over 6000 stores, with the rate of their expansion earning them a title in the Guinness Book of World Records (Heavin and Colman 2). The first store was opened in Harlingen, Texas, with the first franchise opening Paris, Texas in 1995 with all stores now being a franchised venue (Curves International Fitness for Women). The company was opened in 1992, and by 2003 had expanded to the 6000 store mark, placing them in the record book. Hoovers lists more than 10,000 company stores are in existence to date. Gary and Diane Heavin opened the stores with a specific demographic in mind. Gary Heavin had ten years of experience in the fitness industry before designing this model with a specific target demographic (Funding Universe). The intention was to address the needs of women through nutrition and efficient exercise that kept the sessions short, thus providing an easy incentive for sticking to their program. Word of mouth, according to Heavin and Colman, was the primary method of advertising, thus the quality of the service is the greatest asset in marketing (2). Through developing a grassroots program of word of mouth information, transferred from active member to member, the business has gained a great deal of success. The way in which Curves approached the public is a big part of the way in which the company was able to create a niche market phenomenon. According to Curves public relations, 70% of women in the United States do not work out on a regular basis. A conventional gym will require a 90 minute investment and cater to those whose focus is prioritized on working out. The gym is a male oriented universe where many women do not feel comfortable (Best Diet for Me). The target of the business was older women over the age of 40, most of the members being over the age of 55. This is a strange demographic for a health club, but the business model represented a way in which to breach this more difficult group. The Curves model changes the nature of the fitness club to reflect the needs of women, specifically of those over 40. The first thing they did was target small towns that had no other fitness clubs in order to monopolize the markets in that area. Then they addressed the efficiency of how workouts were conducted, creating 30 minute circuit training systems that were designed for quick results. The next issue they addressed was the way in which community was built within the club. The nature of the center is to be social, rather than a place, like other fitness clubs, where the focus on a perfect body distracted from realistic goals. Marketing strategy seems to be very simple. Four aspect of the modern female concern - time, empathy, community, and girlfriends - were used to frame the Curves experience in their marketing. They used size 14 models who were not models for their imagery in order to connect to the average woman. They built their concepts around the circle, highlighting the socializing and equalizing nature of the circle, connecting to history through the idea that women had been sitting in social circles their throughout historic record. The marketing statement is as follows: “One of the reasons Curves works is that we are women in a circle. For centuries women have sat in circles and shared their wisdom and support. Here we exercise in a circle and, whether we talk to each other or not, we are face to face supporting each other by our energy and our presence. In this circle, as in circles of yore, we are not alone” (Baletta 248). According to the company fact sheet, the mission statement is only two words: Strengthening women. The following concepts are used to frame the existence of the corporate identity: The world’s leader in women’s fitness with millions of members worldwide. The world’s largest fitness franchise with thousands of locations in more than 75 countries. The fastest growing franchise company in history. The only provider of complete solutions for women for both exercise and diet/weight management. The only diet/fitness company investing millions in research. The only diet/fitness company offering free weight management classes to members as well as non-members. The only diet/fitness company offering the world’s most intelligent personal coaching technology to millions of women worldwide (Curves International Fitness for Women) Some of the more interesting facts about the company are as follows: There is approximately 1 Curves for every 2.5 McDonald’s in the U.S. and Canada. Curves opened 6,000 clubs in less than a decade; McDonald’s did it in 25 years and Subway in 26. Curves has more locations than any other fitness center in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Ukraine (Curves International Fitness for Women). Curves has created a unique presence in the fitness industry, emphasizing community and inclusion, rather than goals that are outside of the realm of possibilities for most women. The business model has been uniquely successful, comparisons to other franchising opportunities suggesting an accelerated success. Gary Heavin is the CEO of the company. The president and head of marketing is Miner Raymond. The COO is Jim Johnson. There are franchises in more than 70 countries, worldwide, with expectations of a continued expansion (Hoovers). McDonald’s took 25 years to have 6000 outlets, while Subway took 26 years to get to that level. The company is the largest fitness franchise company in the world, the 8th overall largest franchise in the United States, and the 10th largest in the world. Entrepreneur Magazine in 2006 named Curves the “No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 1 Low Cost Franchise, the No. 5 Fastest Growing Franchise, the No. 3 Top Global Franchise, and the No. 3 Best Franchise overall” (Barletta 253). The business model was a simple, but effective plan to focus its target in an observable gap. Franchises would be opened in markets where there were few other options for fitness. Small towns were the initial target markets, allowing for an owner to be profitable with as little as 100 memberships. Franchises could be opened for an investment of $40,000 or less, thus making it an affordable option. The target franchisee was also a woman, connecting the owners to their consumers. When it was at its fullest potential, on current terms, the company was seeing a store opening every 3 hours (Gibson). Some of the weaknesses of the business can be seen through its inflexibility. Curves does not compete well in urban markets because competitors offer more services, such as round the clock accessibility. Many Curves stores close during the lunch hour, making them completely vulnerable in the working woman market. With limited hours and a specific lack of off-time service hours, other companies are exceeding their resources and offering working women better service. Additionally, the 30 minute workout format limited the ways in which women could attend to their workout needs. The company was previously unwilling to change the format, although partnering with Zumba may be an effort to increase their offerings to their members. The original model, however, is outdated and dried up as far as the consumer is concerned, providing the company with a gap between consumer need and creating a membership relationship (Gibson). According to the ACE (American Council on Exercise), some of the claims made by Curves are false and/or misleading. While the business claims that the 30 minute workout can burn up to 500 calories (Online PR News), the ACE found that it burns closer to 184 calories in the 30 minute workout. The machines are an issue as they are based on an hydraulic system which doesn’t always support correct form. In addition, many of the outlets do not have trained fitness specialists onsite, thus the safety of users is in question (Medical News Today). The economic problems that have emerged in the last few years have taken their toll on the company. In 2009, the United States saw 1000 outlets closed down, while only 35 were opened. Despite the coinciding emergence of a failing economy during 2008, the reason given for the decline of the company, “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 tough economy” (Gibson). Financial records that are disclosed to the public still indicate profitability, however that is subjective. Marketing Success and Failures The basic marketing strategy is as follows: “Guilt-free collaborative workouts for women. Sequestered from the judgmental eyes of musclebound meatheads and cackling teens, women exercise in a warm and welcoming circle of their peers” (Shuster). Previous to 2004, the company engaged in no active campaign of advertising, depending on word of mouth spreading the message of their business. This was a definitive success, the company providing a service that was needed to a niche market with specific strategies intended to engage consumers to the mission. The marketing strategy appears to have worked as the franchise opportunity grew measurably and quickly in a very short time period. The first advertising campaign that Curves engaged in happened in 2004 with “The Power to Amaze” campaign. The highly successful campaign was awarded an Effie and exceeded all expectations, creating a 200% ratio of success over what had been predicted (Barletta 248). In 2005 through 2006, Curves International joined the ‘Got Milk’ campaign to promote the Great American Weight Loss Challenge. This was one of the first marketing partnerships that Curves had participated in during its history. This campaign was highly successful, helping to promote the cause of Curves with an association with an advertising campaign that was already popular and in place with the American Dairy Association (Barletta 248). The idea of using a partnership ad campaign was directly in line with the nature of the Curves philosophy. The idea had always been to represent themselves as friendly and accessible, thus a partnership, and more specifically the wholesomeness that was represented by milk, made a powerful combination for the purposes of association. A strong presence on the internet places Curves at easy accessibility for consumers so that they can research the potential of the program before entering one of the outlets. The website clearly states associations with the American Cancer Society, the YOU docs (Dr. Roizen and Dr. Oz, writers of the YOU books that introduce the public to information about their health), Silver Sneakers, and Zumba, a dance fitness program that has become popular in the last few years. The Silver Sneakers program is designed to provide free memberships to women who are in the Medicare program, thus providing them with a preventative measure that encourages fitness (Curves Buford, GA). The current marketing plan is ‘Stronger Together’, a program that has a mission statement that is shared with the consumer to promote community. The statement promotes the consumer to think in terms of sharing their experience. The program ‘Stronger Together’ provide the consumer a space in which so that she can think “If I share my strength with just one woman I can help her become fit, gain confidence, and avoid disease” (Curves). However, some marketing strategies have not been as successful. Weight Watchers has been in conflict with the company over copyright infringements and claims of false advertising (Bloomberg Businessweek). The campaign created by Curves was designated their ’something new’ campaign and directly used concepts that were associated with Weight Watchers to engage consumers in switching their weight loss efforts to Curves. The campaign, initiated in 2009, directly confronted Weight Watchers as a competitor, the commercials and print ads showing consumers who were diverted from Weight Watchers to Curves by friends. Specifically, the advertising shows women pulling up in front of a Weight Watchers store in a van, then switching to the Curves outlet through dialogue and persuasion. In addition, the print ads made the statement, “Curves, a new 30 day plan. No elaborate point systems or eliminating foods, just simple solutions to help you eat better, lose weight, and keep it off for good” (Wong). This directly confronted the Weight Watchers point system. However, the courts put an injunction in place that suppressed the airing and use of the campaign. In 2009, Curves spent 9 million dollars on their advertising efforts (Wong). Current interpretations of the club presents a problem for creating new membership. The age issue is beginning to emerge as almost 20 years has past since the company began its course. According to Gibson, “Some franchisees thing much of Curves’ woes stem from marketing miscues. ‘There is also a perception that the Curves workout is a ‘sissy workout’ which is a complete misunderstanding” says Jim Gasson, a multi-unit franchisee in northern Virginia”. The company takes acceptation to the idea that they have not kept up with trends, but they use upgraded equipment as their example for innovation. However, upgraded equipment is not the same as upgrading the workout structure, thus it seems dated and out measured by competitors that are addressing current trends in fitness. One of the ways in which the company is intending to address the problem of a lack of innovation and issues with outdated trends is through a new program in which their 30 minute program has been combined with Zumba movements, a popular Salsa dance based dance exercise program that is in many fitness centers as a specialized class. Gary Heavin is quoted as say that the program “combines Curves strength-training program- which can burn up to 500 calories in just 30 minutes - with fun, energetic Zumba moves” (Online PR News). The nature of the partnership is a good investment for Curves and Zumba will benefit for increased opportunities for their instructors. According to Zumba, the popularity of their own program has attracted 10 million participants to their classes. One of the problems that Curves faces is within the issue of political associations that Gary Heavin has positioned his company to support. The company has supported anti-abortion programs as well as made a partnership with American Family Association. In addition, Heavin’s own past presents some problems for the nature of this character. Heavin’s first marriage ended in divorce, during a time when he lost custody of his two children and ended up having to file for bankruptcy. During a 6 month period of jail time served for neglecting to pay child support, Heavin reports that he found God through after losing everything he held important. Since that time, Heavin has made considerable contributions to ‘pro-life’ pregnancy centers. He pledged $1 million over a five year period to an organization called Care Net, an organization that actively pursues changing the minds of women who have decided to have abortions, while simultaneously converting them to Christian principles (Shuster). Approximately 10% of all Curves earnings is given to charitable organizations, an admirable donation amount (and incidentally that Biblical tithe amount that is mandated), but considering his political inclinations, it is uncertain if this is a positive to the consumers who consider joining. Additionally, to add to the controversy of the belief systems that Heavin openly supports and makes statements concerning, is the association with the American Family Association. Shuster reports that this association is in support of exposing the “misrepresentation of the radical homosexual agenda and stop its spread through our culture”. This has the potential of preventing many consumers from choosing Curves for their fitness needs. When the news was released that Heavin supported anti-choice operations and homosexual phobic organizations, this hit the Curves franchise operators heavily. However, the ones who were hurt were the franchise operators, not the corporation. Because it is a franchise model of operation, the fees that the franchises pay to the company did not change, but the number of memberships decreased, thus creating a disparity in the profits that were available to the owners (Friedlin). This weakness in the set-up means that eventually the actions of the CEO will not create as much of an effect on overall corporate profits as it does no those of the individual businesses. However, closings will eventually be the result of fallout, effecting the overall profitability of the organization. Curves International Fitness for Women has a significant problem that they will face within the next decades. In order to survive, the company is going to have to find a way to reach women as they age, just as much as they have already reached women who are presently over the age of 40. While the demographic is a raw demographic, mostly untapped and the secret to the success that Curves has experienced, but as time passes, current members of the demographic will age, creating a void between the past and the present as members can no longer participate and their daughters associate the program with something that will define them as old, associated with their mother’s age, and present a problem for the company as it needs to attract new members. There was a time when women sat in circles; in knitting circles, in quilting circles, and in circles of influence that provided for community and connection in order to share similar problems and interests. The concept is powerful, and provided a gender with a lesser empowerment a place in which to engage in the realities of their lives through sharing similar social positions. Curves has provided that same type of circle, a place in which women can gather to share their mutual dissatisfaction with their bodies and make proactive choices to change that issue. However, just like knitting and quilting circles of community, socialized venues create a reaction from subsequent generations that turn them from the past towards something new, placing them in their time and framing them in a concept that represents their generation, rather than their mother’s. SWOT Analysis In order to evaluate the nature of the marketing potentials for Curves International Fitness for Women, a SWOT analysis will provide context for the issues that the company currently faces and will face as time passes. In assessing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, an image of the health of the future for the company can begin to emerge. According to Stapleton, a SWOT analysis is “a tool for defining a company’s marketing objectives” (77). In creating a SWOT analysis, each of the four divisions of the discussion provide a clearer context for addressing problems that impede success. Thus, an analysis will support a future campaign by comparing resolutions of image to realities of the business. The discourse provided by a SWOT will break the down the company into more easily assessed divisions of influence. The influence that these sections provide can more pointedly put the issues and assets into a framework that can be defined for use to support developing a marketing strategy. The first part of the assessment, the strengths, will provide a picture of the internal assets that a company has developed. According to Stapleton, “Any resource, skill or special capability in relation to the competition represents a company strength. Factors like the company’s marketing dominance, reputation of its brand, etc., constitute its strengths” (79). The strengths are vital in determining the tools that can be presented to the public. Without this part of the analysis, nothing else can be supported The weaknesses provide a picture of what the company lacks in resources. Resources such a financial stability, marketing knowledge and use, or qualified foundational personnel can be placed in this category to provide context for compensating for these needs, or creating a true remedy as necessary. An opportunity is an external factor that can be exploited to further the interests of the company. This can include technological advancements, economic factors, social movements, and developing relevant social issues. Conversely, a threat is an external factor that has the potential to adversely influence outcomes against the interests of the company. These factors are crucial to identify as they will provide context for future planning in regard to how to diminish or eliminate the impact of their influence on the success of the company. To break SWOT analysis down, the following condensed explanation clearly defines the goals of the tool. Strengths: What do we have that gives us a competitive advantage? Weakness: Where can we be attacked? What don’t we have? Opportunities: Where are the best markets to generate successful results? Threats: What do we need to look out for that would have a negative impact on results? (Kern 3) Through looking at these four categories of questions, a company can provide a clear assessment of the needs that must be fulfilled in a marketing plan. In assessing Curves, a powerful advantage filled opportunity that has been given high praise by professional magazines and organizations, it might seem that the weaknesses and the threats portion of the analysis will be short and without much impact. This is converse to what the actual result represents. Being a socially centered organization, the company is vulnerable to trends and changes in public philosophy. As well, as already discussed, age factors which have been part of the methodology of attracting consumers, may work to their disadvantage as time passes. Therefore, in creating a marketing plan, the first discussion that must be made is through the SWOT analysis in addressing issues that will begin to arise very quickly as Curves has entered its 20th year of operation. Because the nature of fitness and health is intrinsically connected to the fashion of health and fitness, the company will be vulnerable to shifts in public philosophies on physical attractiveness, as well as on the nature of the pursuit of fitness (see Appendix 2). Learning Experiences and Summary According to the SWOT analysis, the nature of the fitness industry is based upon the current philosophy of fashion, thus the fact that Curves is behind in following trends is holding back its success. In a period where lowered costs is of primary importance, upping the advantages of a membership with Curves through longer hours and updated methods of fitness would provide the company with a competitive advantage. In addition, taking advantage of current innovations and making that the thrust of their advertising will provide the company with a better position in the market. Continuing to focus on the same demographic will allow them to age out, thus cutting the number of memberships. Women of all ages experience the same problems with male oriented fitness centers, going into any gym will provide evidence through the patter of the sales personnel who make a point of trying to prove the place is female friendly. Thus, using this aspect of their business model and combining it with higher levels of fitness goal potentials will increase the membership. A niche market limits future potentials as fashion changes, and without more aggressive changes that address this issue, Curves will become a fad that dies out within the next ten years. Resources Barletta, Marti. Primetime Women: How to Win the Hearts, Minds, and Business of Boomer Big Spenders. Chicago, Ill: Kaplan Publishing, 2007. Print. Best Diet for Me. Curves, International. Marketdate, Enterprises. 2010. Web. 14 May 2011. Bloomberg Businessweek. Curves International, Inc. Bloomberg, L. P. 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. Curves. Curves International Fitness for Women. June 2010. Web. 13 May 2011. Curves, Buford, GA. Free Curves Membership through Silver Sneakers and Medicare. Curves. 15 September 2009. Web. 15 May 2011. Curves International Fitness for Women. Facts Sheet. Curves International Fitness for Women. June 2010. Web. 13 May 2011. Friedlin, Jennifer. Curves Workout May Reduce Women’s Options. WE News. 24 May 2004. Web. 15 May 2011. Funding Universe. Curves International, Inc. Funding Universe. 2002. Web. 15 May 2011. Gibson, Richard. Curves Loses Stamina: Closing Fitness Clubs. The Wall Street Journal Online. 7 July 2010. Web. 14 May 2011. Heavin, Gary, and Carol Colman. Curves. New York, NY: Berkley Pub. Group, 2004. Print. Hoovers. Curves International Fitness for Women. D & B Company. 2011. Web. 13 May 2011. Kern, Russell. S.u.r.e.-fire Direct Response Marketing: Generating Business-to-Business Sales Leads for Bottom-Line Success. New York: McGraw-Hall, 2001. Print. Medical News Today. ACE First to Evaluate Curves for Women - World’s Most Popular Fitness Franchise. Medical News Today. 9 March 2005. Web. 16 May 2011. Online PR News. Curves and Zumba Fitness Partner to Shake up the Circuit. Online PR News. 8 January 2011. Web. 16 May 2011. Shuster, Mike. The Gods of Retail: Curves International. Minianville. 24 March 2009. Web. 13 May 2011. Stapleton, John. How to Prepare a Marketing Plan: A Guide to Researching the Consumer Market. Hampshire: Gower, 1997. Print. Wong, Elaine. Curves Goes Up Against Weight Watchers. Adweek. 2 September 2009. Web. 13 May 2011. Appendix 1 Curves Timeline and Success Statistics Page 1 Revised 4.09 TIMELINE AND SUCCESS STATISTICS 1992 • First Curves for Women center opens in Harlingen, Texas 1995 • First Curves for Women franchise center opens in Paris, Texas 1996 • Curves grows to 44 locations 1997 • 247 Curves locations are open at year’s end 1998 • Curves more than doubles in size to 537 locations 1999 • In January 1999, Entrepreneur magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Best New Franchise, the No. 14 Fastest Growing Franchise and the No. 53 Best Franchise overall • First Curves for Women center opens in Canada • Curves has 860 locations 2000 • In January 2000, Entrepreneur magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Best New Franchise, the No. 14 Fastest Growing Franchise, and the No. 42 Best Franchise overall • First Curves for Women center opens in Spain • Curves grows to 1,258 locations 2001 • In January 2001, Entrepreneur magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 11 Fastest Growing Franchise, and the No. 24 Best Franchise overall • First Curves for Women center opens in Mexico • Curves almost doubles in size to 2,221 locations • Curves is named the world’s largest fitness center franchise by the Guinness Book of World Records 2002 • In January 2002, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 3 Best Franchise overall and No. 3 Fastest Growing Franchise • First Curves for Women centers open in England, Portugal and Wales • Curves has 5,000 clubs by year’s end Curves Timeline and Success Statistics Page 2 Revised 4.09 2003 • In January 2003, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fastest Growing Franchise, the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 1 Low Cost Franchise and the No. 2 Best Franchise overall • Curves is named the fastest growing franchise in history by the Guinness Book of World Records • Curves receives award from Advertising Women of New York for advertising excellence in representing women • First Curves opens in Brazil, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Peru, Puerto Rico, Scotland and the Virgin Islands • Curves has 6,733 locations by year’s end 2004 • In January 2004, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 1 Low Cost Franchise, the No. 2 Fastest Growing Franchise, and the No. 2 Best Franchise overall • Gary Heavin, Curves founder and CEO, awarded the IHRSA (International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association) Visionary of the Year award • Gary Heavin, Curves founder and CEO, awarded the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur of The Year in the service industries category. • Curves receives a Gold “Effie” Award from the American Marketing Association for advertising effectiveness • First Curves opens in Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guam, Honduras, Netherlands and Panama • Curves has more than 8,500 locations by year’s end 2005 • In January 2005, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fastest Growing Franchise, the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 1 Low Cost Franchise, the No. 2 Top Global franchise and the No. 2 Best Franchise overall • In July 2005, Club Business International magazine ranked Curves as the world’s largest club company with over 4,000,000 members, #1 in number of franchises, #1 in fiveyear unit growth, and #1 in the latest year’s (2004) annual unit growth • Curves receives award from Advertising Women of New York for advertising excellence in representing women • First Curves opens in Barbados, Bolivia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Japan, Nicaragua, South Africa and Venezuela. • In October 2005, Franchise Times ranked Curves the 10th largest franchise company in the world and the 8th largest franchise company in the U.S. (based on number of franchise units) • Curves is now the largest fitness center chain in such major countries as the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Mexico, Spain, Ireland, Brazil, New Zealand, Cyprus, Costa Rica, Chile and Ecuador • Curves has 9,500 locations worldwide by year’s end, with one out of every four fitness centers in the U.S. being a Curves. Curves Timeline and Success Statistics Page 3 Revised 4.09 2006 • In January 2006, Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Curves in its annual Franchise 500 ranking as: the No. 1 Fitness Franchise, the No. 1 Low Cost Franchise, the No. 5 Fastest Growing Franchise, the No. 3 Top Global Franchise and the No. 3 Best Franchise overall • Diane Heavin is recognized as the Texas Businesswoman of the Year by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas. • Curves is honored with 5 AWNY awards in the categories of Promotional Print Campaign (In-Club Posters and Magazine) and Television. • diane, The Curves Magazine wins The Communicator Award of Distinction for exceeding industry standards in print communication. • diane, The Curves Magazine wins 7 National Health Information awards, which are given to recognize the nation’s best consumer health information and programs. • In September 2006, Fortune magazine ranked Curves as the No. 1 Up-and-Coming Brand. • First Curves opens in Denmark, Hong Kong, Sweden, Norway, Jamaica, Namibia, Korea, Egypt, Hungary and Israel. • In October 2006, Franchise Times ranked Curves the 9th largest franchise company in the world and the 6th largest franchise company in the U.S. (based on number of units) • October 10, 2006: Curves celebrates 10,000 clubs open! • By year’s end, Curves has 10,038 locations in 51 different countries. 2007 • First Curves opens in Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, Vietnam and Swaziland. • In October 2007, Franchise Times ranked Curves the 9th largest franchise company in the world and the 6th largest franchise company in the U.S. (based on number of units) • diane, The Curves Magazine wins Gold in the National Health Information Awards, which are given to recognize the nation’s best consumer health information and programs. • Curves and General Mills launch Curves Foods, a line of healthy snack foods rich in fiber and whole grains. • Curves launches CurvesSmart, the world’s most advanced personal coaching technology. • Curves launches CurvesComplete.com, a complete online subscription weight loss and fitness solution for members and non-members. • Curves has 10,269 locations and more than 4 million members in 63 countries. Curves Timeline and Success Statistics Page 4 Revised 4.09 2008 • First Curves opens in Bahrain, Belgium, Botswana, Channel Islands, Jordan, Malta, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, and the Ukraine. • In January, Brandweek magazine names Curves Cereal Best Brand Extension of 2007 in the Food Category. • Curves is proud to be a worldwide sponsor of The Great Walk to Beijing 2008 (a million steps in the fight against cancer). Curves co-founder Diane Heavin, representing the entire Curves community, joined worldwide superstar Olivia Newton-John and other celebrities, athletes, business leaders and cancer survivors on a three-week walk along the Great Wall of China-----trekking 228 km across some of the oldest and steepest parts of the Wall. • Entrepreneur Magazine names Curves the No. 6 Top Global Franchise. • Curves received the American Cancer Society’s prestigious Corporate Impact Award as the No. 1 corporate donor to both of their signature events; Relay for Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. • Curves has nearly 10,000 locations and 4 million members in 69 countries. 2009 • First Curves opens in Bulgaria and Senegal. • Curves partners with LifeTime TV, the premier television network for women, to get its message of health and fitness to the audience of its morning show, The Balancing Act. • Curves is named one of America’s Healthiest Gyms by Health magazine. • Curves has nearly 10,000 locations and 4 million members in 73 countries. Appendix 2 SWOT Analysis, Curves International Fitness for Women Read More