Portuguese retail group MC, part of the Sonae conglomerate, reported a turnover of €5.9 billion in 2022, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year and of 9.6% on a comparable store basis.
The group's food retail business recorded growth in both its larger format (+8.3%) and in proximity format (+11.2%) stores.
Supermarket turnover reached €2.9 billion (+11.2%), while hypermarket turnover amounted to €1.9 billion (+8.3%).
MC operates the Continente chain in Portugal, which includes both large-scale and smaller, proximity outlets.
'New Growth Business'
The group's ‘new growth business’ segment, which includes the Wells pharmacy chain and its recently-launched Cozinha Continente restaurant business, reported the highest growth in sales (+19%) in the full year, although this segment only represents €1.0 billion of turnover, overall.
The company ended 2022 with a portfolio of 1,401 shops (including franchises) in Portugal and Spain.
According to Sonae, increased household spending on energy, food and finance led to a drop in sales volume, but ‘high food inflation’ (13% in 2022) resulted in positive sales growth for the full year.
For 2023, "the expectation is that inflation will remain at high levels [...], indicating that the operational challenges are not over yet," commented Sonae MC CEO Luís Moutinho.
Tackling Food Waste
In January, MC announced that it has has adopted an analytical model created by Portuguese consultancy LTPlabs to reduce food waste. The model calculates the likelihood of waste for each product and determines the optimal discount to offer on items near their expiration date, boosting sales and reducing waste, according to the retailer.
The system is now in use at all Continente, Continente Modelo, and Continente Bom Dia stores.
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
