1.

Curves is about Strengthening Women

Founders Gary and Diane Heavin, committed veterans of the fitness

and advertising industries, are considered the innovators of the
express fitness phenomenon that has made exercise available to more
than 4 million women worldwide. They share a passion for and
commitment to women’s health and fitness. The Heavins opened the
first Curves in 1992 in Harlingen, Texas. Their innovative, 30-minute
fitness concept combined strength training and sustained
cardiovascular activity through safe and effective hydraulic resistance.
The club was an overnight success, as it gave women a supportive and
comfortable atmosphere in which to work out. In fact, the company’s
unofficial motto became “no makeup, no men, and no mirrors.”

When their second club was also immediately successful, they knew
that they had tapped a market that wasn’t being served by traditional
gyms and that they could help millions of women worldwide. However,
they knew they couldn’t do it alone. They needed to find passionate
people who were interested in helping the women in their communities
and teach them how to run a Curves. They began making plans to
franchise the business and the first independently owned and operated
Curves opened in Paris, Texas, in 1995.

Curves caught on like wildfire and opened clubs at an astronomical

rate, sometimes more than doubling its number of locations from year
to year. This was all done by word of mouth until Curves launched its
award-winning national advertising campaign in 2003. What took
McDonalds 25 years and Subway 26 years to do—open 7,000
locations—Curves did in under a decade.

Accolade after accolade ensued. Fastest growing franchise in history.

World’s largest fitness franchise. New York Times bestseller. (Curves,
Permanent Results without Permanent Dieting.) No. 1 Fitness
Franchise. With such unprecedented success, it made sense to branch
out globally, and so the Heavins took their vision for an effective and
affordable workout international. Today, Curves has nearly 10,000
clubs in more than 85 countries serving more than 4 million members.

Curves works every major muscle group with a complete 30-minute

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -1-

workout that combines strength training and sustained cardiovascular
activity through safe and effective hydraulic resistance. Curves also
has a revolutionary diet program that’s based in science and has been
proven in numerous and ongoing university research studies to raise
metabolism and end the need for perpetual dieting. With its
scientifically proven exercise and diet programs, Curves is the only
“one-stop shop” where women can lose weight, gain muscle strength
and aerobic capacity, and raise metabolism for good.

Curves is about fitness, health, and moving away from disease. Curves
is about gaining strength and losing weight. Curves is about reaching
your goals in a community of support and encouragement.

2. Turning Tragedy into Triumph

People often ask me how, as a man, I became so committed to

improving the quality of women's lives. It wasn’t until age forty that I
realized what had started me down the career path that was to
become my passion in life.

One morning more than thirty-seven years ago, I was awakened by

the passing School bus. I was thirteen years old, living at home with
my two younger brothers and our mother, Doris Joy Heavin. She had
just passed her fortieth birthday. She was a committed mother of five
children and had wrestled with emotional and physical problems most
of her life.

Her doctors had placed her on an array of medications with little

benefit. As I awoke to the sound of the passing school bus, my
brother Paul came in and told me that I'd better come quickly
because mother was sick. As I knelt beside her bed, I could feel the
absence of warmth. I put my arms around her, first to feel for a sign
of life, and then as a final embrace. I took my younger brothers, ages
eight and nine, in my arms and gently told them that our mother was
in heaven.

Her premature death was unnecessary. The high blood pressure that
contributed to the blood clot that took her life was unnecessary.
Rather than medicate the symptoms, she could have dealt with the

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -2-

cause of her high blood pressure: We now know that exercise and
proper nutrition will almost always alleviate the causes of
hypertension and most other chronic diseases.

Many years later, while teaching a fitness and weight loss class to a
group of about a hundred women, I realized I was subconsciously
scanning the crowd for the face of my mother. I had what you would
call an epiphany. It was then that I realized what had driven me all of
my life and what my destiny was to be. It is my desire that no little
boy has to find his mother as I found mine.

3. Gary and Diane Heavin

Gary Heavin and his wife Diane are the founders of Curves, the
world’s largest fitness franchise company. With more than 9,000
centers worldwide and over 4,000,000 members, Curves is the
fastest growing franchise in history according to Entrepreneur
Chicken Soup for the Entrepreneurial Soul, 2006 Page 2 of 2
magazine. And through Curves franchises, the Heavins have created
entrepreneurial opportunities for more than 30,000 people, 90
percent of whom are women.

In 1976, Gary completed three years toward a pre-med degree when

he realized that he could help prevent the onslaught of deteriorating
health and resultant illnesses by teaching proper fitness and
nutrition/weight loss. He opened his first fitness center at age twenty
and the rest is history!

Curves is a revolution in the fitness industry. Gary knew that the first
step in promoting women’s wellness is to get them into the gym;
many feel uncomfortable exercising in the presence of men, which
keeps them from joining traditional gyms. He also noticed women’s
social tendencies; even while exercising, they like to talk and benefit
from each other’s company.

With this in mind, Curves was designed to allow women to exercise in

the confort and camaraderie of a club designed exclusively for them.
The Curves structure combines a 30-minute circuit-training workout

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -3-

with fun and friendship mixed in, thus allowing a natural support
system to fall into place.

With a degree in health and nutrition counseling, Gary is the author

of two New York Times best selling books on exercise and nutrition.
He was honored with the first ever “Visionary of the Year” award by
the International Health, Racquet, and Sportsclub Association, and
was named a 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the first
time in the history of the national competition that a health and
fitness club operator had won this prestigious award. Currently, Gary
is funding a $5 million study at Texas A&M University to study the
effects of exercise on women’s bone density and metabolism.

4. A Proven Business Model for Success

Curves is a recognized and trusted brand, filling a unique niche in our

industry. Women around the world know Curves as the health club
with the 30 minute workout, but several other factors have
contributed to our success.

• Curves is a key player in the dynamic health club industry, a

market with revenues of almost $20 billion in the US alone.

• Prospects for continued strong growth in the industry are

excellent as baby boomers age and focus on health issues.

• Curves is the largest fitness company in the world, and the

market leader in the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Argentina,
Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Republic of Korea, Mexico, The
Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, the United
Kingdom, and the Ukraine.

• Over the past 15 years, Curves has been recognized as the

fastest growing franchise in history.

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -4-

 • In 2009, Curves International was recognized as Franchisor of
the Year by the American Association of Franchisees and
Dealers.

• While many have tried, no serious competitor has emerged in

the US to challenge our supremacy in serving the women's
fitness market.

But the Curves story is more than just a collection of industry facts.
It's the passion that exists in our community of franchisees and
members.

Curves caught on like wildfire and opened clubs at an astronomical

rate, sometimes more than doubling its number of locations from
year to year. This was all done by word of mouth until Curves
launched its award-winning national advertising campaign in 2003.
What took McDonalds 25 years and Subway 26 years to do—open
6,000 locations—Curves did in less than a decade. Curves is the
world's leader in women's fitness, offering complete exercise and diet
solutions designed specifically for women.

Through the years, accolade after accolade ensued, both for the
company and its founders:

• Fastest growing franchise in history

• World’s largest fitness franchise
• Ninth largest franchise company in the world
• Sixth largest franchise company in the U.S.
• No. 1 Up-and-Coming Brand
• No. 1 Best New Franchise
• No. 1 Fastest Growing Franchise
• No. 1 Fitness Franchise
• No. 1 Low Cost Franchise
• New York Times bestseller list
• Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award
• IHRSA Visionary of the Year Award
• Texas Businesswoman of the Year Award
• AAFD Franchisor of the Year Award

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -5-

Awards and accolades aside, a company that’s been around this long
has to favor substance over style. Curves has the most-studied and
well-researched diet and exercise programs of any fitness company in
the world, committing $6 million to date to study the efficacy of its
programs with unrestricted grants to the Exercise and Sport Nutrition
Laboratory, led by Richard Kreider, PhD, FACSM, FISSN.

The ESNL, currently residing at Texas A&M University in

Bryan/College Station, is dedicated to evaluating the interaction
between exercise and nutrition on health, disease, and human
performance. Its partnership with Curves provides cutting-
edge programs that have been proven to help women do the three
most significant things they can do to prevent chronic disease:
exercise regularly, eat right, and maintain a healthy weight.

Curves has also invested millions in technology for the benefit of its
members, and nowhere is that more apparent than with the
introduction of the CurvesSmart personal coaching system. This
state-of-the art system has been incorporated into Curves’ 30-minute
circuit workout, giving each member moment-to-moment,
personalized feedback. The system automatically adjusts to each
member’s endurance level and strength, allowing them to stay
continually challenged and motivated.

After each workout, members receive a detailed progress report that

tracks overall muscle strength, individual muscle progress, range of
motion, calories burned and how close they are to reaching their
goals. This combination of knowledge and motivation makes it easier
to get results.

It’s no wonder, then, that the prestigious Cleveland Clinic chose

Curves to partner with on their groundbreaking initiative to offer diet
and exercise programs to their thousands of employees. In a special
double issue focused on important healthcare concerns, TIME
magazine lauded the clinic for making exercise and prevention
programs like Curves available to its employees at no charge.

Increasingly, we know that prevention is key to avoiding chronic

disease and the personal and systemwide costs associated with it.

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -6-

The research is clear: being overweight or obese significantly
increases your risk for chronic disease. Curves is proud to be a leader
in the fitness industry in the very crucial area of prevention.

Curves Wellness currently works with 150 insurance carriers in the

U.S. and several large plans internationally to provide membership
rebates, discounts and incentives for Curves members who qualify
under these plans.

With such unprecedented success, it made sense to branch out

globally, so the Heavins took their vision for an effective and
affordable workout international. Today, Curves has locations in more
than 75 countries serving millions of members. It has created
entrepreneurial business opportunities for thousands of people and
employment opportunities for thousands more. And it continues to
be, without rival, the world’s leader in women’s fitness.

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -7-

5. Company backgrounder 2012

5.1. Overview

Curves is the global leader in women’s fitness and the largest fitness
franchisor in the world. Curves pioneered the express fitness
phenomenon and created the first circuit workout program designed
specifically for women that includes strength training and cardio.
Curves offers the only complete solution—diet, exercise, and
motivation—in one convenient location to help women lose weight
and keep it off. Numerous research studies have proven that Curves
works to raise metabolism, burn fat, build muscle, and expend up to
500 calories in just 30 efficient, effective minutes.

Executive Team
• Headquartered in Woodway, Texas
Gary Heavin, Co-founder & CEO
• First club opened in 1992; first
franchise sold in 1995; 100%
Diane Heavin, Co-founder
franchised
DIANE publisher
• 7,000 locations in 90 countries; 3,600
in the U.S. & CAN with 750,000
Jim Johnson, COO
members
Ronnie Glaesmann, CFO
• Mission Statement: Strengthening
Women
Christina Russell, VP, Operations
 
 

5.2. The Market

Only about half of Americans exercise regularly (at least three

sessions a week for 30 minutes at a time), and the percentage of
exercisers declined in 2009 compared to 2008, according to a 2010
survey by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. Of those, only
about 15% have gym memberships, as reported by the New York
Times in 2011. And while the percentage of Americans of “normal
weight” increased slightly in 2011, overweight and obese people still
make up more than 63% of the population, according to Gallup-
Healthways.

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation -8-

The costs of excess weight are staggering: Reuters reported in 2012
that obesity-related absenteeism and impaired productivity costs
employers as much as $36.4 billion annually, while obesity-related
medical spending tops out at $190 billion a year and accounts for
20.6% of U.S. health care expenditures. The good news is that every
$1 spent on wellness saves $5 or more on illness.

5.3. The Clubs

Curves clubs average about 1,200-2,500 square feet and are

generally located in strip malls. They usually include a
reception/check-in desk, sales table, scale and area for doing weight
and measurements, the circuit, stretching station or area, changing
room(s), restroom(s), and products display. They may have cubbys
for personal belongings, water gratis and/or for sale, and hand
towels.
 
5.4. The Workout

Hydraulic resistance strength-training machines designed specifically

for women are arranged in a circuit, alternated with 2’ x 2’ cushioned
recovery squares. Members jump on any open station and begin their
30-minute workout anytime during open hours, changing stations
every 30 seconds as prompted by a recorded cue, or, if they are a
CurvesSmart® member, by flashing indicator lights on each machine.
There are machines for upper, lower, and core body parts, and by the
end of 30 minutes members have worked every major muscle group.
Members walk, jog, or do other aerobics on recovery squares,
allowing muscles to rest between machines and members to stay in
their target training zone, making the workout extremely efficient by
combining strength training and cardio. Hydraulics are safe for any
age and fitness level, and allow members to get the resistance they
need without any guesswork or adjusting of weight stacks.

5.5. CurvesSmart®

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CurvesSmart® is a state-of-the-art personal coaching system that
has been incorporated into our 30-minute circuit workout. A
computer is programmed with members’ personal fitness information,
and each machine recognizes them when they scan their key tag,
giving them moment-by-moment feedback. Flashing lights tell them
when to start and stop and if they need to slow down or push harder.
The program automatically adjusts to members’ endurance levels so
they stay continually challenged and achieve their potential on every
machine, during every workout. CurvesSmart® then computes all of
their workout data to produce detailed progress reports that show
overall muscle strength, calories burned, and how close they are to
reaching their goals. It's the knowledge and motivation members
need to get the results they want.

5.6. Curves circuit with zumba® fitness

All ages, fitness levels and dance abilities can participate in and
benefit from Curves Circuit with Zumba Fitness classes. During the
30-minute class, participants work out on each Curves strength
machine for one minute, alternating upper, lower and core muscles.
After one minute, the music cues the participant to change stations
on the circuit, and she moves to an area between machines to do
Zumba moves, which tone and sculpt the body while burning fat. A
licensed Zumba instructor from the Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN)
teaches simple, modified Zumba moves from the center of the circuit.

At the end of 30 minutes, participants have completed one trip

around the entire circuit, worked every major muscle group, and
achieved a fun, energetic cardio workout ending with a group stretch
led by the Zumba instructor.

5.7. Curves complete®

Research shows that up to 95% of dieters regain their lost weight,

and then some. It’s not because there’s something wrong with them,
it’s because there’s something wrong with conventional weight loss
plans. Curves Complete is a focused, 90-day weight loss program that
combines diet, exercise, and motivation to help women lose weight
and keep it off.

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation - 10 -

 • Diet – Curves has put more time and money into researching
its diet and exercise programs than any other company. The
Curves diet is proven to help women lose weight, mostly in the
form of body fat, and keep it off by raising metabolism. A
higher metabolism allows you to eat more calories without
regaining weight.

The Curves Complete Diet is completely customizable and offers

the things dieters want and need the most: Convenience and
Portion Control. Curves Complete participants are given an
assessment to list their food preferences, dietary needs, and
more. They receive a custom meal plan, which they can access
online. Within the plan, they can easily make changes and
substitutions. They can also choose our convenient new Heat &
Eat option, which allows them to include healthy frozen food
choices like Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals.

• Exercise – It is possible to lose weight without exercising, but

a lot, if not most of it, will be muscle. Muscle helps us:

 look fit, toned and defined

 engage in activities and support our frames
 burn fat!

Muscle burns twice as many calories as fat, so the more muscle

you have the more calories your body burns, even at rest. The
Curves circuit is a complete workout that includes strength
training to protect and increase muscle, cardio to burn fat and
strengthen the heart and lungs, and stretching to promote
flexibility. And with the CurvesSmart® personal coaching
system, participants receive customized instant feedback,
motivation, increasing challenge, and progress reports detailing
muscles worked, calories burned, and more.

• Motivation – Winning the battle of the bulge is not about

willpower; it’s about embracing a conscious change, a process.
To be successful you need tools and strategies to help set

Curves - Prof. Enrique de la Rica – Innovation - 11 -

 goals, overcome obstacles, plan for emergencies, and motivate
you when you need extra help.

We’ve partnered with the Cleveland Clinic to put together a

daily dose of motivational support. Curves Complete
participants can access a short daily video featuring one of the
experts in the three areas of diet, exercise and motivation.
These mini bursts of information will help them build a strong
foundation for embracing change.

• The Complete Package – During the 90 days of their

program, Curves Complete participants receive access to
everything, even if they aren’t current Curves members.
Weekly, they receive a convenient, easy to follow sheet
outlining their plan, including:

 Their food choices for each meal and snack

 Their exercise goals
 Their water and vitamin goals
 Their “daily dose” motivation goals

• Personal Coaching – This is the heart of the program. Curves

Complete participants meet with their coach each week for
about 15 minutes. They’re weighed (and measured monthly)
and will go over their weekly plan with their coach. By looking
at their plan—and what they may have skipped, changed, or
deleted—their coach will have a good picture of what they did
during the week. Together, coach and participant will discuss
what went wrong (or right!) and develop strategies for getting
back on track the following week. This is an invaluable exercise
that will teach the participant how to create and continue
successful strategies after she has completed the program.

To learn more about Curves, please visit www.curves.com

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