Continente will accelerate its presence in Portuguese food retail, with the opening of 100 new stores and the creation of 3,000 jobs by 2030, in a plan that reorganizes formats and priorities and reinforces the focus on proximity. According to the ECO news portal, the group intends to reach close to 500 units, on a path that combines new locations and renovations, reorganizing the operation without any ambition of returning to international adventures.
In recent days, the company finalized preparations to open stores in Alijó and Pombal, planning to close the year with 403 stores in the country. According to the same source, the first openings in 2026 are scheduled for densely urban areas, such as Queluz, Alcântara, Campo de Ourique and Malveira.
First steps of an expanded plan
The announced objective is based on a five-year strategy, which includes the execution of 150 renovations at an annual rate of 30 interventions. The operation seeks to address the “history” of stores that need to adapt to new forms of consumption and the most sought-after formats.
In the administration’s discourse, the focus on large urban centers appears as a central point, along with regions in the Interior where presence is still limited.
The current portfolio includes hypermarkets, large supermarkets and convenience stores, with a total of more than four hundred dedicated spaces. The publication adds that the approximately 300 units under the franchisingintegrated into the Meu Super network.
Where it grows and where it reorganizes
The expansion focuses on Continente Bom Dia and, to a lesser extent, Modelo, adapting to the trend towards smaller baskets and more frequent purchases. The same source states that hypermarkets will continue to be defended through reconfigurations, including reductions in sales area that make some formats more manageable.
Examples of this transformation have already occurred in shopping centers, such as Colombo, Gaia Shopping and Guimarães Shopping, where sales areas have been significantly adjusted. This type of intervention aims to respond to the decrease in demand for very large stores and increase consumer comfort.
Digital grows, but does not replace
Continente Online represents around 4% of sales, a figure above the national average. According to the same source, the biggest boost has come from quick orders, many with reduced prices, in a movement that reinforces the complementarity between the physical store and the digital platform.
Despite this growth, management remains convinced that the physical shopping experience will continue to be dominant, with digital playing an additional but not substitutive role.
Internationalization is out of the plan
Sonae MC rules out any return to international projects, after failed experiences in Brazil and Angola. According to , the company considers that food retail, especially with a broad assortment, requires a strong local component that it does not intend to replicate in other markets.
Even so, the group maintains international ambitions in another segment: the health and beauty area. Druni, which already operates in Spain and has entered several Portuguese cities, is seen as the vehicle to explore new geographies outside the Iberian Peninsula.
Also read:
