Johnson tries a comeback
In 1954 George E. Johnson started his own business in a South Side Chicago storefront by borrowing $250 and mixing, with wooden poles, a hair straightener for blacks. Twenty-two years later his company's health and beauty products had $39 million in annual sales, and Johnson Products became the first black-owned firm to be listed on the American Stock Exchange. But now Johnson's empire is tottering after conflicts with federal bureaucrats and tough competition from cosmetic giants like Revlon. Company sales fell last year to $31 million, and earnings have...
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