Squires (retail chain)

Squires is an American family-owned chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1950 in by John Squires. The stores are found on the within the states of, , , ,  and ; commonly nicknamed. Its corporate headquarters are in the Bangor suburb of. The chain was a pioneer in one-stop shopping, combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, bank, clothing, jewelry, home decor, home improvement, construction tools, garden, electronics, restaurant, shoes, sporting goods and toys.

History
Squires was founded in 1950 by John Squires in as Squires' Department Stores. The store combined separate shops under one roof such as meat, produce, cheese, and other merchandise. The current CEO and President, David C. Squires, is John Squires' second son.

The Bangor store was successful and additional locations were opened in and. The Presque Isle store is still in operation today. By 1961, the chain had over two dozen locations throughout, and.

In 1966, Squires' first modern store opened in, which combined grocery shopping and department store shopping in a single large store. As Squires was skeptical about the success of the store, it was built with a slightly lower floor than usual, so the nongrocery half could be converted into a small ice hockey arena in case the concept failed. New stores were built in the same manner until the mid-to-late-1970s, when the chain began building their stores in a more traditional fashion to save construction costs.

In 1980, Squires opened its first store in, located inside a series of former airplane hangars once used for maintenance by airlines that flew to. This store is still in operation today.

In 1985, the Squires family built the chain's then-largest store in, which upon opening caused the largest traffic jam on recorded at the time. John Squires had to go on local radio to beg people to wait until the next day to go, while customers stood in line for hours waiting their turn to enter the store.

In 1990, the chain introduced it's mascot Johnny the Beaver, created by current company CEO David C. Squires and Boston cartoonist Nicholas H. Morkel. He was originally introduced in commercials produced by Bear Spots, the advertising division of Canadian animation studio, and later appeared in ads produced by David C. Squires' own Squires Animation Studios.

In 1997, Squires acquired four locations of the Best Products chain as part of the company's bankruptcy proceedings.

In August 2007, Squires opened it's first LEED-certified store in, which replaced an older location built in 1970.

Operations
Squires stores are classified as supercenters or hypermarkets (a superstore that combines groceries and department store goods in the same store). Many stores also feature an adjacent Squires-branded gas station and convenience store, with some stores also featuring an adjacent Squires-branded liquor store in areas where the main store cannot sell alcohol on its premises.

Squires has 212 stores in, , , , and.

As of 2022, the smallest non-Express Squires store is in.

A Christian-owned company, Squires' practices often incorporate Christian values. The chain often prints Bible citations in small print on areas of packaging of their private label products. All stores are closed on Sundays to "allow our employees time for family, worship and/or personal activities," according to signs posted on the front doors of their retail stores.

Offshoots
In 1994, Squires experimented with the warehouse club format by opening a set of stores named Price Club. The concept proved unsuccessful in competition against, and , and all four locations were closed in 1996. The first Price Club in was converted to a regular Squires and the second Price Club in  was converted to a distribution center for the chain, while the remaining two were shuttered and sold off.

In 2008, Squires began operating a set of stores called Squires Express, which are smaller than Squires' usual hypermarket stores and contain half the items as usual. Most of Squires' smaller, older locations were flipped to the new branding, with some exceptions such as the Presque Isle, Maine store. In 2013, Squires purchased most of the former campus in, last occupied by , and re-opened the main store as "Squires Express @ Spag's". While the store format and configuration were changed once again to more closely resemble the other Squires Express stores, the store continues to use the Spag's name in it's branding.

In 2007, Squires Family Companies purchased a stake in Mailboxes Unlimited, a franchisor of service centers offering shipping, fulfillment, print and marketing. As a result, Squires has featured Mailboxes Unlimited centers in some of its stores.

How-To service
Squires offers free "how-to" service for customers who purchase electronics, to help answer questions regarding setup and use and avoid potential returns due to not understanding how to use the products.

Food service
In 1962, Squires began serving Freezette ice cream at some of its stores. The brand has become well known in New England for its affordable prices, quirky flavors, and iconic cylinder-shaped scoops.

In 1973, Squires began selling a full range of freshly-prepared food through a food truck outside it's flagship location in Bangor. Most locations now have a food court. They can be indoors or outdoors, but the menu is essentially the same: cheeseburger and fries with drink, slider burgers, hot dog, pizza, Freezette ice cream, Dippin' Dots ice cream, baked items, all-day breakfast items, and sandwiches. Squires offers a quarter-pound 100% beef cheeseburger with fries and 20 US fluid ounces (590 ml) drink (with refills) for US$1.30, the same price since 1973. Some locations offer 100% beef-or-pork hot dogs for either $2.00 or the same $1.30 price as the cheeseburger meal deal. Squires sells Pepsi and Keurig Dr. Pepper fountain drinks.

"Hypermarket"
The majority of Squires' stores are described as "hypermarkets", which combine a multitude of merchandise under one roof. Squires is credited as a pioneer of the format when it opened its first store in the format in 1966.

Bangor's Best
Bangor's Best is Squires' primary private label brand, used for a number of different products, from food & drink to tools and batteries. The brand was introduced in 1993, with its name derived from the chain's "hometown" of.

To counteract the consumer confidence problem common in private labels, some of its products are co-branded with the name brands of their manufacturers, such as, , , , , , and. Some Bangor's Best products marketed to younger consumers, such as the cheese strings and kids' multivitamins, are co-branded with major licenses such as Disney, Marvel Comics, Bluey and Latikuu Edacra, while others are branded with the chain's mascot Johnny the Beaver. Some Bangor's Best products still carry white-label brands but are otherwise manufactured by a partner, such as and.

Care Plus
Care Plush is Squires' private label brand for health and beauty products.

Baby Bangor
Baby Bangor is Squires' private label brand for baby care products such as diapers, wipes, formula, shampoo, etc.

Most Baby Bangor products are made by partners, for example the Baby Bangor Infant Formula has been produced by Danone since 2022 and the Baby Bangor diapers are produced by. Since 2010 Baby Bangor products feature characters from  on the packaging.

Organic Choice
Organic Choice is Squires' private label brand for organic, vegetarian and vegan products.

Tail Spin
Tail Spin is Squires' private label brand for pet care products.

All Tail Spin products are made by.

Freezette
Freezette is the name used by ice cream sold at Squires' stores. It is famous in the New England region for its affordable prices, quirky flavors, and iconic cylinder-shaped scoops. Popular Freezette flavors include Mint Chip Crunch, Cookie Dough Bonanza and Rocky Road Rumble, as well as more recent introductions, such as Oreo Surprise (made with real Oreo cookies).

Freezette Ice Cream counters located within Squires and Squires Express food courts sell hand-scooped ice cream in single-, double- or triple-scoop servings on sugar, cake, or waffle cones. The ice cream also comes pre-packaged in 1-pint and 1.5-quart cartons and are also sold by the half gallon in "Freezette Blocks", which are simple, waxed-paper boxes formed by folding interlocking flaps.