Word: ward
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1950-1959
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...said. "Somebody told me that he doesn't give autographs but I don't believe it. He'll give me one. I'm the only Republian in South Boston, almost. That's because I wasn't born here. There's twenty-six Republicans out of 800 voters in this ward. I'm a poll watcher, and I cherish each Republican vote. I'll tell Dick that," she said. "He'll give me that autograph...
Such "normal" head-chopping of executives has made Montgomery Ward a merchandising oddity. Though it is the second largest general retailer in the world, not one of its top-echelon men has had solid retailing experience. Half of its six-man top operating committee, including new President Krider, came up through the accounting department-men who are scornfully referred to in the company as "scorekeepers." Sewell Avery has put most of the emphasis on cost-cutting rather than selling...
Flooded Basements. Instead of expanding like Sears Roebuck during the postwar boom, Ward has lopped about 30 stores from its retail chain (current total: 602). As part of his 6-in.-thick manual of "standard operating procedures," Avery ruled that any outlays for maintenance and improvement that exceeded $15 (and in emergencies $200) would have to be approved by him personally. "You could have a basement full of water," said one Ward alumnus, "and not be able to do anything about it until you got Avery's name on a piece of paper. If you wanted...
...such rigid cost-cutting and cautious retrenchment, Avery has developed what Chicagoans laughingly refer to as "the only bank in the world with a store front." He has built up Ward's cash reserves and Government securities to a towering $230 million. Ward's owes no money. Since 1945, unlike other big stores, it has used its own cash to finance credit for its customers (present total: $164 million), pay for its inventories (now $275 million...
While waiting for the depression, Avery has lost out on the boom. In the past ten years, though Ward's profits have doubled (to $54 million), its sales (up 75%) have done little more than keep pace with rising prices (the cost of living has jumped 64%). At the same time, Sears Roebuck, which has furiously expanded, has nearly tripled sales (to $2^ billion) and quadrupled earnings (to $111,500,000). Ward's, which in 1938 had 40% of the U.S. mailorder business, now has only 28%, while Sears...