In the supermarket titans’ battle, Continente takes another bite out of its competitors’ market share

2025 was a year of growth for the food retail sector in Portugal. In an environment still dominated by fierce competition and discount campaigns, the giants Continente and Pingo Doce, which together account for around half the market, managed to increase their revenues compared to 2024. But in this clash of the titans, MC’s food retail brand once again came out on top.

Sonae, owner of Continente, closed the last year with a set of “extraordinary” results, in the words of CEO Cláudia Azevedo. A result that was once again underpinned by the figures reported by the food retail unit, which managed to “gain market share throughout the year and reinforce Continente’s leadership in a competitive environment”, as the company highlighted in its annual accounts.

Annual turnover rose to €7.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 10%, “driven by LfL (like-for-like) sales growth of 8.3%”. According to the company, this increase was driven by volumes, “reflecting the strength of Continente’s value proposition in a context of moderate inflation”.

In this clash of supermarket titans, Continente came out on top in 2025. Pingo Doce’s sales grew by ‘just’ 5.3% to €5.3 billion last year, and LFL (Like-for-Like growth, excluding the effects of store openings and closures) remained unchanged at 3.7% – or 4% if fuel is excluded. Exactly the same figures as in 2024.

The operating profit of the Soares dos Santos family’s supermarket chain rose by 8.5% year-on-year to €322 million, with the respective margin rising slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 6% due to “sales growth and initiatives to boost productivity and counter cost pressures”.

“Food retail has seen interesting growth, largely driven by population growth and tourism in a sector that, until the last three years, was mature. This has been across the entire food retail network, but especially at Sonae, whose growth has been impressive, even with the arrival of the new entrant, Mercadona. In this two-horse race, at least according to the latest figures, it has been Continente’s model in particular that has been making a huge effort”, says Carlos Pinto, senior investment manager at Optimize.

Commenting on the two groups, João Queiroz, Head of Trading at Banco Carregosa, explains that “the margins for both are similar”. “Of course, Jerónimo Martins’ cash flow of €537 million cannot be compared with that of 2024, which was negative [-€62 million], but it appears balanced against the debt, not least because the ROI [return on investment] is around 20%, showing that the allocation of assets appears intelligent and strategically well-executed, as well as quite solid”, he notes.

For Pingo Doce, the strategy is already in place. The holding company’s plan was to prioritise the (re)conversion of supermarkets to the “All About Food” concept in order to continue differentiating itself through its fresh produce and ready-to-eat options. By 2025, 52 stores had been refurbished – and the work will continue. The outlook for this year is to proceed with the opening of around ten new stores and carry out nearly 40 refurbishments.

Continente, meanwhile, will open a further 20 stores per year over the next five years, aiming to reach 2030 with nearly 500 hypermarkets and supermarkets across the country. In this five-year plan, MC also plans to carry out 150 refurbishments (at an annual rate of 30 to “address the backlog”) and hire a further 3,000 people in the country, putting aside new attempts to internationalise the food retail brand that claims market leadership in Portugal.

It is worth noting that the business models of the two Portuguese groups differ significantly, not least because Sonae focuses primarily on the domestic market, whilst Jerónimo Martins’ operations are not only international but predominantly so.

In strategic terms, João Queiroz, Head of Trading at Banco Carregosa, notes that the food retail sector has now moved beyond the “phase of price wars and market consolidation”, during which brands such as Aldi and Lidl repositioned themselves towards convenience and invested in the in-store experience. So much so that, in 2025, the Jerónimo Martins group’s investment in Pingo Doce – which accounts for just 19% of total capex – was around 20% lower than the amount invested the previous year.

“The investments ensured competitiveness. Now, the main focus is on the scope of the various segments in which the brands operate (local presence and the provision of competitively priced meals)”, says analyst João Queiroz, adding that efforts are focused on the so-called “anchors of the shopping experience” to encourage consumers to visit the store at least “three times a week or even every day”.

Restaurants inside supermarkets will continue

Pingo Doce’s CEO, Isabel Ferreira Pinto, acknowledges that this is a “highly competitive market” that requires constant monitoring, not least because “the retail landscape in Portugal changes from year to year”. It is necessary to reshuffle the pieces, revamp the menus or roll the dice in other countries, as has recently been done in Slovakia. It is also for this reason that Pingo Doce’s restaurant ‘menu’ is set to expand. Rather than just shopping, the company wants passers-by to pop into the store and sit down for breakfast or lunch.

“The ‘value proposition’ with which we present ourselves to our consumers and customers is very different from the rest of the market. Our focus is very much on fresh produce, own-brand products and ready-to-eat food. It ranges from meal solutions to our restaurants. The catering offering will continue to be one of our major strengths and focuses. That is why we opened 19 restaurants last year and now have 256 restaurants across the country”, said Isabel Ferreira Pinto at a press conference.

Carlos Pinto, a fund manager at Optimize, points out that “both have been investing in the convenience aspect, which has been the trend in recent years”. “The preference is for supermarkets over hypermarkets. Continente’s expansion plan has mainly focused on opening more stores and refurbishing existing ones. At the same time, Pingo Doce has also been doing this to build a business with good margins on ready meals. It seems to me that this is a segment worth continuing, not least because they already have their own kitchens”, he explains.

Continente gains market share and Pingo Doce holds its own

In terms of market share among different retailers in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), in 2025, Pingo Doce maintained the same 21.7% share with which it closed the previous year, according to data provided by Worldpanel to ECO. Continente, meanwhile, increased its share from 26.6% to 27.5%, strengthening its leading position and pulling ahead of its competitor owned by Jerónimo Martins.

“2025 was a particularly positive year for Continente, the result of an effective strategy to attract and retain customers, with an increase in the number of ‘trolleys’ in-store, translating into higher footfall and visit frequency”, explains Marta Santos, country manager at Worldpanel, in comments to ECO.

“Against a backdrop of highly fragmented shopping habits, this ability to attract more customers was essential”, notes the spokesperson for the former Kantar, adding that “the focus on fresh produce also contributed significantly to boosting the brand’s appeal”.

Private label accounts for a third of Continente’s sales

The supermarket chain owned by the Azevedo family, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2025 and has over 400 stores across the country, experienced, according to financial director João Dolores, a “historic year”. “We expanded the EBITDA margin to 10.3%, with a strong focus on efficiency gains”, he explained at the results presentation conference in Maia, with the company “focusing on increasingly lower and more attractive prices for its customers”.

At a time when the crisis in the Middle East threatens to change consumption patterns and push people towards cheaper products, Sonae’s CFO explained that Continente’s own-brand products accounted for “just over 20%” of revenue when the war in Ukraine began, accelerating a rise in prices, and now account for “around a third (33.3%)”.

“The players [Sonae and Jerónimo Martins] have invested heavily in promoting their own-brand products and improving their quality, and the market is responding positively. Their competitor Mercadona has been a success story and a market leader in Spain, and there is a great deal of enthusiasm for it in Portugal, where – I would say – over 80% of its product range consists of own-brand items, with growth particularly evident in the health and wellness sector”, argues Carlos Pinto.

Lidl holds third place and Mercadona gains ground

As for market shares in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the domestic market, Lidl remains the third-largest food retailer in Portugal, with a 12.9% share (13% in 2024), behind the leaders Continente and Pingo Doce. In fourth place and growing is Mercadona. The Spanish chain, which earned €26 million in the domestic market in 2025, saw its market share rise from 7% to 7.2%.

Another retailer to increase its market share was the French firm Auchan. The group, which completed the acquisition of Minipreço early last year, a year and a half after the purchase was announced, saw its share of the national food retail market rise from 4.4% to 5.3%.

“According to Worldpanel by Numerator, around 30% of Auchan’s growth resulted from the direct replacement of Minipreço stores”, points out Marta Santos, noting that “there was also an increase in the volume of purchases by its most loyal customers, although it is not possible to quantify whether this increase was due solely to Auchan’s differentiated offering or to the transfer between brands”.

According to Worldpanel’s country manager, “the overall picture is positive, showing that Auchan’s growth was not solely due to the absorption of Minipreço’s sales, but also to the expansion of its customer base”.

Combining the Auchan group and Minipreço, the combined market share of the two brands falls from 6.7% to 6.1%. As Marta Santos points out, “it was to be expected that not all of Minipreço’s sales would be transferred to Auchan following the acquisition, due to differences in positioning and product range”.

“Many consumers sought more affordable alternatives, spreading out to other brands such as Continente, Pingo Doce and Lidl. This shows that the market share was not fully absorbed by Auchan, reflecting the dynamism and demand for convenience and price in the Portuguese food retail sector”, she adds.

Private labels account for almost half of sales

Continente and Pingo Doce, as well as being the two chains with the largest market share in fast-moving consumer goods, are also recognised for their strong private-label presence, not least because they have over 2,000 private-label products on the shelves of their supermarkets. In recent years, the importance of this type of brand has grown in Portugal, according to INE.

The latest data, for 2024, showed that all large-scale food retail outlets in the country stock own-brand products. Sales of these items, totalling €8.6 billion, accounted for almost half (47%) of total sales, representing an increase from the 45.2% recorded in 2023.

“Between 2011 and 2024, there was a steady increase in sales of own-brand products, with the value more than doubling over that period (+148.3%), compared with a slightly more moderate increase in the sales volume of these outlets (+67.7% over that period)”, reported the national statistics agency. In fact, in 2024 alone, the sales volume of own-brand products grew (+8.9%) at a faster rate than overall sales (+4.9%).

Continente in figures:

• Sales and LFL – Up 10% to €7.1 billion and an LFL of 8.3%
• Underlying EBITDA – €728 million (+8.5%)
• EBITDA margin – 10.2%
• Store network – 400 (13 new stores)
• Investment (MC) – €338 million

Pingo Doce in figures:

• Sales and LFL – Up 5.3% to €5.3 billion and LFL of 3.7% (or 4% excluding fuel)
• Operating profit – €322 million (+8.5%)
• EBITDA margin – 6%
• Store network – 497 (new locations to open in 2025, corresponding to eight net additions, up from the previous seven)
• Retail area – 590,565 square metres
• Investment – €222 million