Continente

---

title: "Continente" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["supermarkets-of-portugal", "department-stores-of-portugal", "distribution-companies-of-portugal", "retail-companies-established-in-1985", "hypermarkets", "1985-establishments-in-portugal"] description: "Portuguese hypermarket chain" topic_path: "geography/portugal" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continente" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Portuguese hypermarket chain ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox company"]

Field	Value
name	Continente
logo	Logo Continente.svg
logo_size	200px
type	Subsidiary
foundation	Matosinhos, Portugal ()
founder	João Rui Rego
defunct
location	Matosinhos, Portugal
locations	519 stores (2018)
industry	Retail
products	Grocery
General merchandise
Financial services
revenue	€3.275 million (2010)
operating_income	€147 million (2010)
num_employees	28,150 (2010)
parent	Sonae
homepage
::

| name = Continente | logo = Logo Continente.svg | logo_size = 200px | caption = | type = Subsidiary | traded_as = | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = Matosinhos, Portugal () | founder = João Rui Rego | defunct = | location = Matosinhos, Portugal | locations = 519 stores (2018) | area_served = | key_people = | industry = Retail | products = Grocery General merchandise Financial services | services = | revenue = €3.275 million (2010) | operating_income = €147 million (2010) | net_income = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = 28,150 (2010) | parent = Sonae | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | footnotes = Continente is a retail chain that belongs to Sonae Distribuição, the largest retailer in Portugal. The hypermarket Continente chain is spread all over continental Portugal as well as on Madeira 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 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 holding, while Continente was the Portuguese and Spanish operation of the French retailer Promodès, known by the ensign Continent elsewhere.

Thus, it was part-owned by its French competitor, Carrefour, who sold their stake to Sonae for €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, which was later purchased by Carrefour. The Continente ensign disappeared from Spain after the 1999 Carrefour-Promodès merge.

Store formats

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Continente_Colombo_(Abril_2017).png" caption="Continente supermarket at Colombo Shopping Center, Lisbon."] ::

The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Continente stores, Continente Bom Dia (convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in urban locations, designed for more frequent purchases of everyday life, 800 m2) and Continente Modelo stores (hypermarkets of proximity, with an area of about 2000 m2).

At the end of its 2009/10 financial year Continente store portfolio was as follows.

::data[format=table]

Format	Number	Total Space (m2)
Continente	53
Continente Modelo	137
Continente Bom Dia	147
Wells	133
BAGGA	87
Book.it	17
Other	8
Total	582	544,000
::

References

References

1. "Annual Report 2010". [[Sonae]].
2. "Portugal's Biggest Retailer Selects SeeBeyond". ebiz.
3. "Carrefour announces the divestment of its stake in Modelo Continente and the acquisition of 13 hypermarkets in Poland from Ahold.". Carrefour.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::