Encyclopedia - Business/Economics Category

Business/Economics - learn from the smartest.

Upgrade to Britannica Online

Take a tour, New improved britannica online

Imagine Britannica's 32-volume encyclopedia online right there for you, plus full access to articles. Amazing content, written by world experts, that you can cite for projects and assignments.

Click here for Britannica shop

Montgomery Ward & Co.

Montgomery Ward & Co. extract from Britannica Online.

Former U.S. retail merchandising company. It was founded in Chicago in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward (1844–1913), who bought merchandise wholesale and sold it directly to farmers. He distributed the world's first mail-order catalog and offered a money-back guarantee. The company opened its first retail stores in 1926, and by 1930 retail sales exceeded catalog sales. It ended its mail-order business in 1985, and in 1997 it scaled back operations after filing for bankruptcy protection. Another bankruptcy in December 2000 caused the company to close its 250 stores and go out of business the following year. See also direct-mail marketing; Sears, Roebuck and Company.

Montgomery Ward & Co. is one of 26,000 free short articles on Britannica Philippines

Find more information on Montgomery Ward & Co.. Upgrade to Britannica Online for more on Montgomery Ward & Co..

  • Get more

  • M?ss?ng more?

    Subscribers see 10 times more content. Just US $69.95 per year

  • Britannica, just as colourful as The Philippines
  • There's more to Britannica Online than words! Discover photos, graphics, videos, charts, as well as thousands of expert views and articles by the world's leading scholars.