When Did Montgomery Wards Go Out of Business and Why

Montgomery Ward filed for bankruptcy and closed its remaining stores in 2000, after 128 years in business.

The company's decline began in the 1990s, when it struggled to compete with online retailers.

Montgomery Ward had previously filed for bankruptcy in 1997, but was able to reorganize and continue operating.

However, it wasn't enough to save the company from going out of business a second time.

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Montgomery Ward was founded in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward as the world's #1 mail order business. It was a huge success and became one of the largest retailers in the United States.

By the 1990s, Montgomery Ward was struggling to compete with low-price retailers like Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart. This led to declining sales and eventually, bankruptcy.

In 1997, Montgomery Ward filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and emerged from bankruptcy court protection in August 1999 as a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital. GE Capital was its largest shareholder at the time.

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The company tried to stay competitive by closing 250 retail locations in 30 U.S. states, abandoning its specialty store strategy, and rebranding as simply Wards. But GE reneged on promises of further financial support.

In 2000, Montgomery Ward announced it was going out of business and would close its remaining 250 retail outlets and lay off its 37,000 employees. This was after lower-than-expected sales during the Christmas season.

The subsequent liquidation was the largest retail bankruptcy liquidation in U.S. history. All the stores closed within weeks of the announcement.

In May 2001, Montgomery Ward was gone.

Montgomery Ward's decline was a result of a combination of factors that ultimately led to its closure.

The company's struggles began in the early 2000s, when it was forced to file for bankruptcy due to a failed attempt to expand its online presence.

A significant blow to the company came in 2000, when it was unable to compete with online retailers like Amazon and eBay.

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The company's struggles continued even after it emerged from bankruptcy in 2003, with a new business plan in place.

By 2009, Montgomery Ward was facing financial difficulties once again, and it was clear that the company was in trouble.

The final nail in the coffin came in 2017, when the company announced that it was closing all of its physical stores.

The closure of Montgomery Ward had a significant impact on the employees and the community.

The company laid off 450 people at its national headquarters and 37,315 jobs nationally, including 2,000 in the Chicago area.

Montgomery Ward's closure was a blow to Chicago, which has lost several major corporations to mergers and acquisitions in recent years.

The company abandoned its historic catalog, but the 1907 Mail Order Building on Chicago Ave. is listed as a national historic landmark.

Wards' employees, many of whom had been with the company for over a decade, were devastated by the news.

"I'm just devastated", said Anece Rich, a 28-year Wards employee who worked in the company's mail room. "They took care of us as best they could."

The closure of Montgomery Ward also had a ripple effect on the retail industry, as it was a pioneer in American retailing and helped establish the concept of mail-order catalogs.

Wards' demise was a result of its inability to compete with other big retailers, such as Home Depot and Best Buy.

"It's brutal. It's as competitive as anything out there", said George Whalin, president of Retail Management Consultants.

The company's attempt to revamp its stores and upgrade its apparel lines was too little, too late, as it struggled to establish itself as a distinctive brand in the marketplace.