Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company

The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company was an American cosmetics manufacturer incorporated in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1910 by Madam C. J. Walker, best known for its hair care and cosmetics products for African-American customers. It is considered the most widely known and financially successful African-American-owned business of the early twentieth century. Walker had begun selling her Wonderful Hair Grower in Denver and then across the southern states, and settled in Indianapolis in February 1910, where the lawyer Robert Brokenburr drafted the articles of incorporation. Multi-level marketing through trained sales agents was its most successful strategy, and by August 1910 it had 950 agents. After Walker died in 1919 her daughter A'Lelia became president, and the firm built a new headquarters and plant in Indianapolis in 1927. It ceased operations in July 1981; the 1927 building became the Madam Walker Legacy Center, and Sundial Brands revived the brand name in 2020.