Did CURVES President Mike Raymond Get Pruned?

Did CURVES President Mike Raymond Get “Pruned”?

If so, many franchisees who lost their Curves clubs, retirement savings,  positive credit scores and investments as part of a process Raymond called “pruning” might call that “poetic justice.”

In a 2010 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Curves President Mike Raymond stated that the failure of more than 1000 Curves clubs, and the closing of 1/3 of all domestic franchises, was simply a healthy “pruning” of the system.

He also blamed the closures on Curves franchise owners, who had an “investor” mentalities (Read:  CURVES Franchise Owners React to Comments That They’re Being “Pruned”)

CURVES President Mike Raymond Steps Down With No Fanfare

In the brief February 14th story Curves President Steps Down on ClubIndustry.com, Stuart Goldman wrote:

Mike Raymond, who had been the president of Curves International, Waco, TX, since 2005, resigned in December.

Raymond is now a senior advisor to the company and continues to serve on the Curves board of directors. He has been with Curves since 2002 and had served as its senior vice president of marketing prior to his promotion to president. He succeeded Gary Findley, who is now the chief operating officer for Snap Fitness, Chanhassen, MN.

“I wanted to do some other things,” Raymond says. “I’m still very actively involved with the company, and I still have an office there and do a lot of work there.”

Raymond says he is teaching at Baylor University, which is in Waco.

A company spokesperson says Curves has no immediate plans to fill its president’s role.

If A Tree Is Pruned and No One is There to Hear It…

Anyone find it odd that the President of a large company like Curves International steps down and no one notices?

There were no press releases or announcements that Mike Raymond stepped down.

The industry’s own trade magazines didn’t report it for 2 months.

The brief ClubIndustry.com mention raises many questions:

Was Mike Raymond “pruned” as being unnecessary, like the pesky Curves franchisees he referenced in the Wall Street Journal article?

(Also read:  CURVES: 1000 Franchise Clubs Failed Last Year)

What are the “other things” Mike Raymond wanted to do?

Will he parlay his pruning skills into an entrepreneurial venture, like raising bonsai trees?

If Mike Raymond still has an office at Curves, what does he do in it?

If Mike Raymond is gone and is not being replaced, does that mean that Gary Heavin was just calling all the shots anyway?

Well, if Mike is feeling low about stepping down after 8 years, he can always commiserate with the thousands of Curves franchisees who know what it’s like to get “Pruned.”

You can talk to them here, Mike:  1000+ Comments from Curves franchise owners.

Just don’t mention that when you left, you got a golden parachute instead of threatening letters and a collection agency hounding you.

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