Montgomery Ward

Montgomery Ward Inc.
	Montgomery Ward Company Complex, former headquarters in Chicago
Company type	Original incarnation: Private; mail order and department store; Current incarnation: Online retailer and catalog merchant;
Industry	Retail
Founded	1872–2001: As mail order company and later department store; 2004: As current online retailer;
Defunct	June 2001 (original company)
Fate	Bankruptcy in 2000; full liquidation in 2001; namesake retailer launched in 2004 after purchase of trademarks
Headquarters	Original company: Chicago, Illinois, United States; Namesake company: Monroe, Wisconsin, United States;
Key people	Original company: 1872 founder, Aaron Montgomery Ward; Namesake company: John Baumann, president of parent company Colony Brands;
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics
Brands	Riverside; Airline; Powr-Kraft;
Parent	Original company:; Mobil (1974–1988); GE Capital (1988–2001); Namesake company: Colony Brands;
Divisions	Electric Avenue; Wards Kids; Montgomery Ward Catalog; Montgomery Wards Auto Express;
Website	www.wards.com

Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". The current Montgomery Ward Inc. is an online shopping and mail-order catalog retailer that started several years after the original Montgomery Ward shut down.


Montgomery Ward Company Complex, former headquarters in Chicago
Company type	Original incarnation: Private; mail order and department store Current incarnation: Online retailer and catalog merchant
Industry	Retail
Founded	1872–2001: As mail order company and later department store 2004 (2004): As current online retailer
Defunct	June 2001 (2001-06) (original company)
Fate	Bankruptcy in 2000; full liquidation in 2001; namesake retailer launched in 2004 after purchase of trademarks
Headquarters	Original company: Chicago, Illinois, United States Namesake company: Monroe, Wisconsin, United States
Key people	Original company: 1872 founder, Aaron Montgomery Ward Namesake company: John Baumann, president of parent company Colony Brands
Products	Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics
Brands	Riverside Airline Powr-Kraft
Parent	Original company: Mobil (1974–1988) GE Capital (1988–2001) Namesake company: Colony Brands
Divisions	Electric Avenue Wards Kids Montgomery Ward Catalog Montgomery Wards Auto Express
Website	www.wards.com