Curves vs Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise Comparison

Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Curves vs Iron Tribe Fitness including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.

Start-Up Costs and Fees
 
Curves Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Investment $115,600 - $243,200$300,000 - $433,500
Franchise Fee $39,900$42,000
Royalty Fee 5%6%
Advertising Fee -1%
Year Founded 19922010
Year Franchised 19952012
Term Of Agreement 5 years-
Term Of Agreement 5 years-
Renewal Fee --


Business Experience Requirements
 
Curves Franchise
Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
Experience
  • Financially stable
    		• -

    Financing Options
     
    Curves Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
      In-House/3rd PartyIn-House/3rd Party
    Franchise Fees No/No-/-
    Start-up Costs No/No-/-
    Equipment No/No-/-
    Inventory No/No-/-
    Receivables No/No-/-
    Payroll No/No-/-

    Training & Support
     
    Curves Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
    Training At regional meetings (full day), convention (3 days), local events (1 day) On-The-Job Training: 20 hours Additional Training: Online pre-training course
    Support Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Grand opening, Internet, Field operations/evaluationsPurchasing Co-ops Newsletter Meetings/Conventions Toll-Free Line Grand Opening Online Support Security/Safety Procedures Field Operations Site Selection Proprietary Software Franchisee Intranet Platform
    Marketing Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising Co-op Advertising Ad Templates National Media Regional Advertising Social media SEO Website development Email marketing Loyalty program/app
    Operations 50% of all franchisees own more than one unit

    Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 2

    Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (70% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

    		 Absentee Ownership Allowed Number of Employees Required to Run: 5

    Expansion Plans
     
    Curves Franchise
    Iron Tribe Fitness Franchise
    US Expansion -Yes
    Canada Expansion No-
    International Expansion Yes-

    Company Overviews

    About Curves

    At the age of 20, pre-med student Gary Heavin had taken over a failing fitness center in Houston, turning the business around and, within five years, opened six more centers. After 10 years and 17 centers, Heavin's business went under. Not wanting to give up, Heavin took lessons from the strengths and weaknesses of his first chain and decided to open a second. In 1992, Heavin opened Curves for Women, a women-only fitness center, in Harlingen, Texas. The company began franchising in 1995.

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    About Iron Tribe Fitness

    "Iron

    Iron Tribe was founded by fitness industry veteran, Forrest Walden, back in 2008 in his 400 square foot garage. Initially, it was just to have a place for Forrest to do group-based workouts with his friends because he couldn’t find anywhere locally that offered the right amount of space and equipment. There was no charge to belong, but you had to have a personal invite. "The  As more and more friends begged to come and join his garage gym, Forrest began to dream about what it would look like to start a brand-new concept that would take his team-based, group workouts to the next level and allow more lives to be impacted. The first official Iron Tribe location opened in February of 2010. The response from the community was immediate and overwhelming. In fact, the 250 membership cap was reached in under 8 months with a growing waiting list .
    That location has operated at max capacity since  September of 2010 eventually moving across the street and expanding the location to serve 300 clients.