(FranchisePick.Com) The woes of the 30 minute women’s fitness franchises, chronicled and debated in hundreds of franchisee comments on FranchisePick.Com, have reached the mainstream business press, including Forbes.
An article by Lisa LaMotta in the current issue of Forbes features Ricki and Matt Wilson, owners of the ill-fated Atlanta franchise of Butterfly Life. Butterfly Life is a struggling Curves knock-off that’s been extensively featured at FranchisePick.com. The article points out that, unfortunately, the Wilson’s Butterfly Life experience does not seem to be an isolated incident, as “Last Thursday, 10 Butterfly franchisees, most in California, filed a class action against Butterfly, alleging that the company made “illegal earnings claims” and failed to make clear disclosures in its UFOC. (Butterfly’s 2006 UFOC states that the company does not furnish any oral or written information concerning the profitability of individual health centers.)”
Butterfly Life CEO Mark Golob sees it differently. To him, the lawsuit is just a case of franchise owners blaming others for their own shortcomings:
“Most of the time when a franchisee doesn’t make it, [franchisees] don’t blame themselves, but the franchiser,” says company Chief Executive Mark Golob. “Our mission is to help women all over the country, and we have helped thousands and thousands of women.” Of the class action, he adds: “We are vigorously fighting this lawsuit. We believe that we’ll win.”
The suit is now pending with the American Arbitration Association. Read the Forbes article here:
Secrets And Snags To Franchising Success.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE FORBES ARTICLE ON BUTTERFLY LIFE? THE ARBITRATION? GOLOB’S STATEMENT?
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