When the first Continente opened in Matosinhos on December 10, 1985, it was a hypermarket with 48 checkout lanes, according to Idealista, and some people even turned Sunday into a day trip just to check it out. More than four decades later, the brand has 41 hypermarkets, and according to MC’s CEO, Luís Moutinho, in a meeting with journalists cited by ESM Magazine, the plan is not to open any new ones. Growth will now focus on neighborhood stores, with about 20 openings per year through the end of the decade, according to Echo Boomer.
What the opening was like in 1985
The store started with 330 employees, many of whom were still inexperienced, according to Continente. During the first few months, nearly 5,000 customers visited the store each day, according to Idealista.
There were times when the doors had to be closed temporarily because the store was at capacity, recalls an employee interviewed by the brand. According to the idealist, a whistle was used to signal that the entrance should be closed. On opening day, when the store closed at midnight, the shelves were empty.
In memories collected by the brand, a cashier recalls that some people even arrived by horse-drawn cart. Prices were written by hand on the price tags, and to change them, special forms had to be filled out.
From the first store to more than 400
Behind the project was Sonae, which in 1983 had formed a partnership with the French group Promodès to make a serious foray into retail, according to ECO.
Forty years later, in December 2025, the brand had 401 company-owned stores: 41 hypermarkets, 149 Continente Modelo supermarkets, and 211 Continente Bom Dia neighborhood stores, according to ECO. The plan is to open about 20 stores per year through 2030, to reach close to 500. The Continente Card is already used by more than 4.5 million people.
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