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Business in Woodley
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No men, mirrors or makeup at Woodley fitness centre
A no-frills fitness centre for women only, which offers circuit training that takes just 30 minutes to complete, has signed up over 600 members since opening in Woodley in September 2005.
Curves, located in Library Parade, is part of an international franchise network that provides women with everything they need – the equipment, support, motivation and dietary advice – to get and stay fit in a totally non-intimidating environment. It’s run by ex-professional dancer Julia Chappel.
“What we offer women is personal, friendly support for better fitness,” she told Business in Woodley. “Women often don’t like the sweaty, adrenalin-pumped atmosphere of the typical leisure centre gym, where you have to have lost weight and be fit before you even join. At Curves, we make fitness fun so members find it easier to keep coming back.”
All Curves machines are scaled to the female frame. Members spend just 30 seconds on each machine, with a 30 second break in between, during a total workout lasting 30 minutes, ideally three times a week.
“This makes a visit to Curves very time efficient for busy working women,” Julia went on. “We close at 7 pm which is ideal for a visit on the way home, before they attend to their many other obligations.”
Julia, who lives in Yateley near Camberley, warmed to the Curves concept while a member herself, a route common to many Curves franchisees. It took almost a year to find the right premises in Woodley town centre and a micro marketing campaign to promote it, which is ongoing.
“Curves fitness clubs are located quite close to each other – the nearest to mine is in Lower Earley – because each serves its own immediate community,” explained Julia.
“This makes newspaper advertising rather ineffective in attracting new members, so I focus instead on being seen at local events within a short radius of the club, like the carnival and school fairs.
“Quite simple devices work very well for us – helium balloons as give-aways, for instance – but our best promotional asset is our members. Most new recruits come via referrals from the members themselves.”
Full members are entitled to visit any Curves in the world no less, making the group’s scope and availability into what is often described as the McDonald’s of the fitness industry.
And with each Curves concentrated on its own local area, open sharing of experience and know-how between the various managements is common.
“We all work in the same way and feed off each other, rather than compete,” added Julia. “It’s a level of co-operation which complements the support concept at the heart of our member offer.”
www.curves.com
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