Modelo Continente is the biggest retailer in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

. Nowadays the hypermarket

Hypermarket

In commerce, a hypermarket is a superstore 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 groceries lines and general merchandise...

 Continente chain is in Amadora

Amadora

Amadora is a city and a municipality in Portugal, in the northwest of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The city and municipality population is 175,872 in eleven freguesias . With an area of 23.77 km², it is the most densely populated municipality of Portugal...

, Antas (Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

), Cascais

Cascais

Cascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...

, Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

 (CoimbraShopping and Fórum Coimbra), Covilhã

Covilhã

Covilhã is a city in Covilha Municipality in Centro region, Portugal. The city proper has 36,723 inhabitants, and the municipality has an area of 555.6 km² with a total population of 53,501, being composed of 31 parishes. It is located in the Cova da Beira subregion, in the district of...

, Guia

Guia, Albufeira

Guia is a Portuguese parish in the municipality of Albufeira. It has a population of 3,630 and an area of 18.45 km². It is approximately 5 km from the coast. The nearest beaches are Laurenco and Gale....

, Guimarães

Guimarães

Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...

, Leiria

Leiria

Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...

, Lisboa (C.C. Colombo, C.C. Vasco da Gama and Telheiras), Loures

Loures

Loures Municipality is a municipality to the north of Lisbon. Created on 26 July 1886 by a royal decree, the municipality currently occupies an area of 169 km² and has about 200,000 inhabitants . It borders the municipalities of Odivelas, Sintra, Mafra, Arruda dos Vinhos, Vila Franca de Xira...

, Mafra

Mafra

Mafra is a municipality in the district of Lisbon, on the west coast of Portugal, and part of the urban agglomeration of the Greater Lisbon subregion, with its seat in the city of the same name...

 (opened on October 1, 2008), Maia

Maia

Maia is a female given name of Greek origin. Together with other similar words, it may refer to:- Mythology :* Maia , the eldest of the Pleiades in Greek mythology, also identified with an Ancient Italic goddess of spring and the most beautiful....

 (MaiaShopping and Maia Jardim), Matosinhos

Matosinhos

Matosinhos Municipality is located in Porto District, Portugal. The main city is Matosinhos. It is bordered to the south by the city of Porto and lies within the Greater Porto subregion. The municipality has a population of 168,451 in 10 parishes. Many people have recently moved from the...

, Ovar

Ovar

Ovar Municipality is a municipality in Aveiro District, Baixo Vouga Subregion in Portugal. It has a total area of 147.4 km² and a total population of 56,296 inhabitants, and 42,582 electors . The city of Ovar itself has a population of 16,849....

, Portimão

Portimão

Portimão is a Portuguese town located in the District of Faro in the Region of Algarve, the southern coast of Portugal. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão . In 1924, it was incorporated as a cidade and became known merely as Portimão. The town has 41,000 inhabitants and the Portimão...

 (V6 and Retail Park), São João da Madeira

São João da Madeira

São João da Madeira , in English St. John's Wood, is a municipality in northwestern Portugal. Its part of Porto Metropolitan Area, the second largest of Portugal. It has a land area of 8.11 km² and a total population of 21 685 inhabitants...

, Seixal (Arrentela

Arrentela

Arrentela is a Portuguese parish, located in the city of Seixal. It had a 2001 population of 28,610 inhabitants and a total area of 9.58 km², its density was 2,986.4/km². Its inhabitants are known as Arrentelense...

), Viana do Castelo, Vila Nova de Gaia

Vila Nova de Gaia

Vila Nova de Gaia, or simply Gaia is a city in Vila Nova de Gaia Municipality, Portugal. It is located in the Porto District, south of the city of Porto on the other side of the Douro River. The city proper has a population of 178,255 and the municipality contains 24 parishes with a total...

, Vila Real

Vila Real, Portugal

Vila Real is a city in Vila Real Municipality, Trás-os-Montes, northern Portugal.According to the 2001 census, the city had a total of 24,481 inhabitants.- History :...

, and Viseu

Viseu

Viseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...

 (Av. da Bélgica and Retail Park). The supermarket

Supermarket

A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...

 chain Continente Modelo, formerly named just Modelo, has also a nationwide presence. Modelo Continente, S.G.P.S., S.A. is a subsidiary company of Sonae SGPS's Sonae Distribuição.

History

Modelo Continente started in 1985 by the merger of two large retailers, Modelo and Continente. Modelo was owned by the Sonae

Sonae

Sonae is a conglomerate, and is the largest private employer in Portugal. The company is primarily engaged in the operation of retail stores through its subsidiary Modelo Continente....

 holding, while Continente was the Portuguese and Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 operation of the French retailer Promodes

Carrefour

Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...

, known by the ensign Continent elsewhere.

Thus, it was part-owned by its French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 competitor, Carrefour

Carrefour

Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...

, who sold their stake to Sonae

Sonae

Sonae is a conglomerate, and is the largest private employer in Portugal. The company is primarily engaged in the operation of retail stores through its subsidiary Modelo Continente....

 for €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

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.

External links

• Sonae Distribuição SGPS, SA corporate site
• Continente Online