HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Continente is a
retail chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, Management, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate many retail markets, dining markets, and service categories ...
that belongs to Sonae Distribuição, the largest retailer in
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. The
hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...
Continente chain is spread all over
continental Portugal Continental Portugal (, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and 96.6% of the country's l ...
as well as on
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
and in the Azores. The supermarket chain Continente Modelo, formerly named just Modelo, also has a nationwide presence. Sonae Distribuição, SGPS, SA, is a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...
company of Sonae SGPS.


History

Sonae Distribuição started in 1985 by the merger of two large retailers, Modelo and Continente. Modelo was owned by the
Sonae Sonae is a multinational business group headquartered in Maia, Portugal. It operates in 90 countries, working in various sectors, among which retail (food, electronics, and fashion), real estate, media and telecommunications, technology investme ...
holding, while Continente was the Portuguese and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
operation of the French retailer
Promodès Promodès is a former French group of retailers. It was owned up to 56% by the Halley family. Paul-Auguste Halley, which was a simple grocer in the Manche in the 1950s, had the idea of importing the concept of supermarkets in France. With his ...
, known by the ensign Continent elsewhere. Thus, it was part-owned by its French competitor,
Carrefour Carrefour Group, S.A. (, ), is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, Essonne, Massy, France. It operates a chain of hypermarkets, grocery stores and convenience stores. By 2024, the group had 14,000 ...
, who sold their stake to
Sonae Sonae is a multinational business group headquartered in Maia, Portugal. It operates in 90 countries, working in various sectors, among which retail (food, electronics, and fashion), real estate, media and telecommunications, technology investme ...
for
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...
345 million on 16 November 2004. In 2008, Carrefour sold its Portuguese retail ventures existing under the Carrefour ensign to Sonae. Continente used to have one branch in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, which was later purchased by Carrefour. The Continente ensign disappeared from Spain after the 1999 Carrefour-Promodès merge.


Store formats

The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Continente stores, Continente Bom Dia (
convenience store A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lotter ...
s and smaller supermarkets in urban locations, designed for more frequent purchases of everyday life, ) and Continente Modelo stores (hypermarkets of proximity, with an area of about ). At the end of its 2009/10 financial year Continente store portfolio was as follows.


References

{{reflist


External links


Sonae Distribuição SGPS, SA
corporate site
Continente Online

Continente Magazine Online
Supermarkets of Portugal Department stores of Portugal Distribution companies of Portugal Retail companies established in 1985 Hypermarkets 1985 establishments in Portugal