The Bandwagon Effect

It sounded like a good idea.

Curves for Women franchises were springing up like dandelions all over the country. It was no surprise that the “what’s good for the gander is good for the goose” mentality was close behind. Enter Cuts Fitness for Men.

The franchise was an unabashed disciple — some would say copycat — of the Curves’ formula for success. Still, despite a strong push for a ride on the single-sex bandwagon, the concept so popular with women failed when applied to men. “Cuts Fitness for Men advertised their franchise opportunity aggressively, promoted its story continuously through the press and strategic alliance partners, then seemed to go silent all at once,” say the folks at FranchisePick.com. The Cuts Fitness for Men website now simply hawks a Cuts book, as if the whole thing never happened.

So, was the Cuts story a fireworks-like flameout after a spectacular start? Or did the franchise ever get off the ground in the first place?

FranchisePick.com reports that “an April 2006 Cuts Fitness press release boasted that the men-only 30-minute fitness company … had more than 100 franchises open in five countries, more than 200 franchises sold, and expected to sell 250 more franchises in 2006.” The media bought the hype, and proclaimed Cuts Fitness for Men as a hot franchise investment. Entrepreneur Magazine ranked Cuts Fitness No. 17 in its Top 20 New Franchises list, No. 65 in its Fastest Growing Franchises list and No. 300 in its 2006 Franchise 500. “The hype continued through mid-2006, when the company press releases slowed and stopped mentioning the number of units,” says FranchsePick.com. “In September 2006, in an otherwise positive article, the New York Times reported that “67 Cuts for Men clubs have either closed or never opened.”

There’s a lesson in here somewhere. Actually, there are a few of them. The most obvious is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to attracting niche markets. Bandwagons are like any other vehicle: The more weight they take on, the slower they move. But consider the marketing angle. Was Cuts Fitness for Men a victim of its own hype? Its PR was making promises franchisees couldn’t deliver, and a relentless forward surge didn’t allow room for a slow-down or slide-back in its business plan. The end result seems, in hindsight, inevitable.

How strong is the temptation to cash in on someone else’s popular idea? Has your fitness center ever fallen victim to the bandwagon effect? Take it from Cuts Fitness for Men: Sometimes the safest place for a business is on solid ground, waving at the bandwagon as it goes by. Don’t worry too much about missing it; another will be along shortly.