Portuguese retailer Sonae MC will give priority to smaller stores as part of its growth strategy.
In an interview for Diário Económico’s ETV, the chief executive of Sonae MC, Miguel Seixas, said that the company’s strategy is no longer based on the opening of large Continente hypermarkets, with one or two exceptions.
Growth will now be achieved through the convenience-store format Meu Super, using a franchise-led model, as the retailer targets regions of Portugal that do not have these smaller stores.
The Meu Super concept was introduced in 2011, and today, more than 160 stores have opened as part of its franchising regime. Although the stores are not branded as Continente, they sell Continente private-label products and accept the Continente customer loyalty card.
Outside of Portugal, Sonae MC already sells Continente private-label products and others developed by Continente, like My Label (cosmetic products) or Kasa (for decorations), in African Portuguese-speaking countries, but also in Croatia and Slovakia, where it supplies a large local retailer.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic.
