As the recent closing of the Kailu, HI Curves for Women fitness center shows, a failed franchise location is a loss for many involved.
In this case, franchise owner Robbi Ugini must deal with the personal and financial agony of defeat.  Her 5 employees are suddenly jobless.  Her 270 members are without a fitness club.  Her landlord has a vacant space, and her lender will, most likely, have a defaulted loan.  And the franchisor will not be receiving future royalties, revenue from purchases or advertising contributions.
What started as a dream ended in disappointment
According to the story by Nina Woo in …read more

(Franchise Pick)  Also read:  Is Curves for Women a Good Franchise Investment?
Franchise Dreams Becoming Nightmares for Many Fitness Club Owners
When Curves for Women franchise owner Logan Chung abruptly closed his two Chicago area fitness clubs, he left his employees without paychecks and members without a fitness program.  However, a group of members have banded together to possibly buy and reopen the Elmwood Park location, and Curves International is hoping to find a buyer for the Oak Park club.
According to the Wednesday Journal:
Two local Curves women’s fitness centers closed their doors, Aug. 31. But a spokesman for the company says they’re …read more

(FranchisePick.Com)  Also read:
Curves For Women Franchise: 20% of Curves Franchises Closed in MA,
HAS CURVES FOR WOMEN ABANDONED ITS FRANCHISE OWNERS?,
Insider Advice for Curves Resale Franchise Buyers,
200+ comments: Is Curves for Women a Good Franchise Investment?
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In a recent Concord Monitor article, AG bureau looks into gym closings, Kate Davidson reports that 2 more Curves for Women franchises have closed their doors abruptly, leaving their members stranded and their owners’ dreams dashed.  Davidson writes that unhappy members who paid for services they didn’t receive have taken their complaints to the MA Attorney General :
The attorney general’s consumer protection bureau is reviewing …read more

 Photo:  Bobu.  Licensed by Creative Commons.
(FranchisePick.Com)  In it’s article Curves sheds a fifth of its fitness centers, BostonNow Business reports that both membership and number of Curves for women franchise clubs in Massachusetts has declined significantly in the past three years.  According to the article citing information from the Boston Business Journal:
“…Owned by local franchisees, last year the number of Curves gyms in Massachusetts dropped 20 percent to 156 from 194 in 2006, and was down nearly 30 percent from the 218 sites that were operating in 2005, according to research by the Boston Business Journal. Membership levels in the state …read more