In the 1940s, Montgomery Ward made what critical business mistake that historians consider one of retail's greatest missed opportunities?

Montgomery Ward was once one of America's retail giants, pioneering mail-order catalogs in 1872 and competing with Sears for decades. Despite its innovation and historical significance in American commerce, the company made a decision in the 1940s that many business historians consider one of the greatest missed opportunities in retail history. Test your knowledge of this famous retail failure that contributed to the company's eventual bankruptcy in 2001.

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They rejected the rights to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, which became a massively profitable character for other companies
They turned down an exclusive partnership with Disney that Sears subsequently secured
They declined to expand into suburban shopping malls, believing downtown stores would remain dominant
They refused to acquire the newly-formed Walmart when offered at a fraction of its later value