Montgomery Ward

Montgomery Ward, the world's first general merchandise mail-order business, issued its first single sheet catalog in 1872. By 1887, the Chicago based company had annual sales exceeding $1,000,000 and in 1889 it became a privately held corporation. In 1893, founder Aaron Montgomery Ward sold his controlling interest to partner George R. Thorne, and the company became a public corporation in 1919.

In 1931, Sewell L. Avery became chairman and chief executive officer. His tenure was marked by labor troubles in the 1940s which culminated in two government seizures of the company in 1944. In 1968 Montgomery Ward merged with Container Corporation of America to form Marcor Inc. Mobil Oil Corporation gained a controlling interest in Marcor in 1974, and Wards became a subsidiary of Mobil. In 1988 senior management led a drive for a levereged buyout and Wards became a privately-held company.

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