Montgomery Ward (later known as Wards) is an online retailer and a former American department store chain, founded as the world's first mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward. At its height, it was one of the largest retailers in the United States, but declining sales in the late 20th century forced the original Montgomery Ward to close all of its retail stores and catalog operations by early 2001.After a near four year absence, the Montgomery Ward brand was revived as an online and catalog-based retailer headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in late 2004, when Direct Marketing Services Inc. purchased much of the intellectual property assets of the former Wards. Currently, the company has no retail stores.Since June 2006, the revived Montgomery Ward has expanded to run a children-oriented online retailer, Wards Kids.
