Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company facts for kids
.jpg)
Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1911.
|
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Hair products |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Founder | Madam C. J. Walker |
| Defunct | 1981 |
| Headquarters | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Products | Cosmetics |
The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company was a famous cosmetics company. It was started in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1910 by Madam C. J. Walker. This company was known for its hair care products and cosmetics made for African-American people. It became one of the most successful African-American owned businesses in the early 1900s. The company stopped working in July 1981.
Contents
The Story of Madam C. J. Walker's Company
Who Was Madam C. J. Walker?
Madam C. J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867. She was born in Delta, Louisiana. Her parents had been enslaved, but they were free when she was born. Sarah became an orphan when she was only seven years old.
In 1881, when she was 14, she married Moses McWilliams. They had a daughter named Lelia in 1885. Sadly, her husband died two years later.
How the Company Began
Madam C. J. Walker first thought about starting her company in Denver, Colorado. Like many women at that time, she had problems with her scalp and hair loss. This was due to how people cleaned their hair, their diet, and some products that hurt hair.
She learned about hair and scalp care from her brothers. They owned a barber shop in St. Louis. Around 1904, Sarah started working as a sales agent for Annie Malone. Annie Malone was another African-American businesswoman who made a "Wonderful Hair Grower."
Sarah moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1889. She worked as a cook. Later, a druggist in Denver helped her create her own special cream to heal scalp problems.
In January 1906, she married Charles Joseph Walker. She then changed her name to Madam C. J. Walker. Together, they sold "Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower." They advertised her products by showing her long, healthy hair.
In July 1906, Madam Walker and her husband traveled to sell their products. They went through Texas, Oklahoma, and other southern states. Her daughter Lelia managed the business in Denver.
Madam Walker soon realized she needed a main office. She chose Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, because it was easy to ship products from there. In 1908, she opened a hair salon in Pittsburgh. She also started training her own sales agents. She even created a school called Lelia College, named after her daughter.
Growing the Business in Indianapolis
In January 1910, Madam Walker and her husband went to Louisville, Kentucky. They wanted to get support for her company. She wrote to Booker T. Washington, a famous leader, asking for help to raise money. He wished her luck but did not offer direct help.
Madam Walker and her husband arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana, on February 10, 1910. She opened a salon in a doctor's home. There, she met with sales agents and clients. She quickly grew her customer base.
Madam Walker's best strategy was using "multi-level marketing." This meant she trained many sales agents. These agents then sold her products to many clients. By August 1910, she had 950 sales agents.
She hired two lawyers, Freeman Ransom and Robert Lee Brokenburr. In the summer of 1910, she asked Brokenburr to officially create the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company of Indiana. The company's goal was to sell products that would grow hair, make it beautiful, and heal scalp problems. Madam Walker, her husband, and her daughter were the only people on the company's board.
In November, Madam Walker bought a brick house. By December, she had added more rooms. She planned to add a factory, a lab, and a salon. This building became the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company of Indiana. In 1911, Madam C.J. Walker was the only owner of the company.
Important People and Later Years
Marjorie Joyner (1896-1994) became an important agent for Madam Walker. By 1919, Joyner was in charge of Madam Walker's 200 beauty schools across the country. She helped train about 15,000 hair stylists over 50 years. These stylists would go door-to-door, dressed neatly, carrying products to customers' homes.
Marjorie Joyner also helped create new products, like a machine for permanent waves. She helped write the first laws for cosmetology in Illinois. She also started a sorority and a national group for black beauticians. In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. showed an exhibit about Joyner's permanent wave machine.
After Madam Walker died in 1919, her daughter A'Lelia became the company's president. Under her leadership, the company built a new headquarters and factory in Indianapolis in 1927. However, the Great Depression (a time when the economy was very bad) hurt sales. A'Lelia had to sell some of her personal art to keep the company going.
When A'Lelia died in 1931, her adopted daughter Mae Walker took over. Mae led the company until she died in 1945. Then, Mae's daughter, A'Lelia Mae Perry Bundles, became the fourth president. The company closed in 1981. The 1927 building later became the Madam Walker Legacy Center.
The Brand Today
In March 2020, a company called Sundial Brands brought back the brand name. They now sell products under the name Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Culture at Sephora stores.
See also
In Spanish: Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company para niños
