Butterfly Life Franchise Lawsuit in Forbes
January 18, 2008 by Sean Kelly
Filed under BUTTERFLY LIFE, CONTOURS EXPRESS, CURVES FOR WOMEN, xBuyer Beware
(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 will 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?
More Resources: Franchise Tips & Guidance, Searchable Franchise Directory, Top New Franchises.
Good article. Too bad there wasn’t more detail of the lawsuit with BFL. One addition…the article stated there were ten members bringing the lawsuit…actually they are only class representatives of MANY members who are involved in the lawsuit. Keep your eyes open for more articles to come…………..
AND …todays mail holds this for some of the remaining BFL franchisee’s………and the story goes on with more lies to try to protect themselves( Corp.). Did they send out an email to the remaining “open and happy and successful” club owners about the counter suit filed against them..why NO! Wondering why not?
Read this email sent out today:
“We have been made aware of the negative smear tactics in the e-mails that have gone out in regards to the Amendment. It’s sad that this small disgruntled group continues to spread lies and negativity designed to hurt your business and the company. It’s a false and desperate attempt to prevent you from receiving major benefits for your franchise business. The truth is they really don’t care what happens to you or the fact that you need to remain positive and upbeat in order for your business to get your quality time and attention.
We are committed to adding value and helping you grow your business each and every day. The revenue producing programs we are launching will provide extra revenue to your bottom line and help your members get better results. We will continue to work for you adding great programs and services. All of us staff at the corporate office are here to support you each and every day. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.”
Where the hell was all the support and concern 12-18 months ago? Could it be that all those “disgruntled, bad business people” were smart enough to get the attention of those in command? If the lies were all lies ( and could not be backed up) does anyone think this case would be heading into arbritration? If so, I have a broker that would love to sell you some beautiful sunny white sand beachfront property in San Ramon.
Rumor has it that BFL is attempting to sell out to Curves, etc. Can’t believe anyone would touch them with a ten foot pole knowing there’s a class action arbitration pending against them. Does anyone have info on this? Read the great article in Forbes…if they followed up with all franchisees (and area reps who need to get their heads out of the sand) they would have great articles for at least a year! I heard coming soon to a neighborhood near you…more articles in Wall Street Journal, IHRSA, Franchise Times…and maybe they’ll finally get their “national branding” on 60 minutes or 20/20 or Primetime!!! Stay tuned!
Industry publication ClubFitnessPro is doing a story on Butterfly Life and 1-2-3 Fit that will appear in their February issue. They did the story on 30 minute concept struggles in November, which we linked to.
Sean,
Would you please provide the 30 minute concept link again?
Also, one to the Fitness Business Pro article when it comes out?
Lastly, the article in Forbes was very much on point. However, it did fail to mention the white elephant in the corner. Franchisors such as BFL prey on a specific demographic of investor. It would seem the Wilson’s were a rare case. In most cases they look for older, soon to retire types with a nest egg or other source of “disposable” income. They play to their desire to help women. They are of an age where working for someone has lost it’s attraction so being their own boss if very attractive. Lastly if they can increase their retirement fund in the process then what could be better? Companies like BFL know full a large percentage of their franchises will fail. In fact, given their lengthy experience in the industry can probably spot the telltale signs sooner than anyone else.
So why do they continue? A quote I heard third hand reportedly from Mr. Golob says it all “we are not in the business of operating franchises, we are in the business of selling them”. Or in other words, it’s all about the money!
DB
The list of all FranchisePick.com articles & posts on 30 Minute Fitness Franchise news & issues has been updated:
30 Minute Fitness Club Franchises: Blogliography
Links include the Forbes story, FitnessBusinessPro article and links to stories on the Curves franchise, the Contours Express franchise, the Butterfly Life franchise, the 1-2-3 Fit franchise and others.
Feel free to check it out and let me know if there are links I should add.
Please visit and comment on the interview with Butterfly Life franchise owner Matt Wilson.
Please forward these links to others who would be interested, and encourage them to comment.
Franchise Pick: BUTTERFLY LIFE: Unhappy Franchisee Interview With Matt Wilson, Franchise Owner
AllBusiness.com: Unhappy Franchisee Matt Wilson Shares His Expensive Lessons
UnhappyFranchisee.com: BUTTERFLY LIFE: Interview With Franchisee Matt Wilson
Read other Butterfly Life franchisee interviews