FORMERLY PE OWNED
Curves
Includes Curves International, Curves Fitness
Gym / Fitness · Waco, TX
- PE Firm
- North Castle Partners
- Year Acquired
- 2012
PE bought the world's biggest women's gym chain mid-collapse. Six years later, fewer than 400 US locations were left.
What Happened
- North Castle Partners bought a controlling stake in Curves in 2012, after the chain's US locations had already fallen by more than half from their mid-2000s peak
- In 2017 a Texas federal jury found Curves breached its contracts with 52 franchisees by failing to deliver the advertising they paid for, awarding more than $1.5 million. Curves appealed
- North Castle sold the international Curves business to Japan's Koshidaka Holdings in 2018, then sold the US business to Curves' own president in 2019. It kept shrinking the whole time North Castle owned it
The Damage Done
- By 2019, only about 370 US locations remained, and members kept losing their gyms as franchisees folded.
- The 30-minute circuit that made Curves famous barely changed, while cheaper 24-hour competitors like Snap Fitness and Anytime Fitness opened with more amenities.
- Franchisees said they were hit with expensive closure fees even after losing their investments.
Sources
- North Castle Partners Invests in Curves International(2012-09)
- CURVES: The Rise & Painful Fall of the Curves Franchise Chain(2014-07)
- Examining the State of Curves (American Spa)(2019)
- Franchisees Win Contract Claims Verdict In Curves Tax Suit (Law360)(2017-04)
- Curves International to Appeal Partial Verdict in Texas (PR Newswire)(2017-04)
- North Castle Partners Sells International Fitness (Club Industry)(2018-03)
- Curves President Krishea Holloway to Acquire Curves DF Holdings(2019-08)