Montgomery Ward Dishwashers
Montgomery Ward was a catalog and department store retailer that has gone out of business. As such, Montgomery
Ward brand dishwashers are also no longer in production. GE Capital saved Montgomery Ward from bankruptcy in
1999, but GE let the company disappear a year later. Although a new web-based catalog company now exists bearing
the Montgomery Ward name, it no longer sells dishwashers nor does it honor old Montgomery Ward obligations.
Montgomery Ward Company History
Montgomery Ward was founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward in 1872 as a mail order dry goods company. At the time, the
catalog only featured 163 items but boasted the unprecedented company policy of "satisfaction guaranteed or
your money back." By 1883, the Montgomery Ward catalog was 240 pages and listed 10,000 items.
Montgomery Ward rose to fight for dominance over the mail order/catalog business with Sears, Roebuck and Co. In 1926, the
company opened its first retail store. The company opened 244 stores in two years. Everything went well for the
company until the 1950s when it failed to adapt to America's expansion into suburbia. While its competitors
opened stores in suburban shopping malls, Montgomery Ward stuck to its downtown and mainstream locations. By the
time the company tried to break into the suburban market, its competitors already had too strong of a hold.
Mobil Oil bought Montgomery Ward in 1976. In 1985, the company closed its catalog business and focused more money on
the retail stores. A push toward the consumer electronics market in 1987 gave Montgomery Ward the financial
rebound it needed. Montgomery Ward's stores were very popular and successful until the 1990s when it succumbed
and lost to cheaper competition. In December 2000, Montgomery Ward announced the closing of all 250 retail
outlets, and by May 2001, Montgomery Ward had vanished. An online retailer bearing the name and the Montgomery
Ward logo was created. The company doesn't honor gift cards or obligations from the old Montgomery Ward and
doesn't operate any retail stores.
Tips For Trouble Shooting Montgomery Ward Dishwashers
General appliance vendors still carry parts for Montgomery Ward dishwashers. Most sites ask for a model number and
also tell customers how to find the appliance number.
The company is no longer in business, and the new company bearing the Montgomery Ward name
doesn't honor obligations from products bought under the name prior to 2004.
