The spokesperson for the distribution companies (APED) had already warned days ago that the price increase for basic goods next year “is inevitable,” with Gonçalo Lobo Xavier describing “enormous pressure from the point of view of the value chain” on products such as meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, cocoa, or coffee. “There’s no other option,” confirmed the CEO of Continente’s parent company.

“Prices have to go up. If there is inflation, prices have to go up. There may be higher or lower inflation, and it is expected to be lower [in 2026] than in the recent past, in 2022 and 2023. What we expect is that inflation levels next year will be stable, at levels well below those of recent years. But whenever there is inflation, prices have to go up. There is no other remedy,” said Luís Moutinho on a report by Eco.

Assuring that the food retail business in Portugal “is low-margin,” during a meeting with journalists in which he presented the expansion plan that foresees the opening of 100 more stores with 3,000 jobs and closed the door to internationalization, the CEO of Sonae MC promised, nevertheless, that “whatever the context, the strategy will always be to have the best price on the market [and] Continente as the champion of low prices.”

Operating in a “very mature and competitive” market where it has to compete with fewer operators compared to Spain (where there are several regional chains), but which have large international operations, the entry of Mercadona or the strengthening of Lidl has also forced Continente to increase the number of own brand products.

“To compete with discounters, in addition to price, we have to have quality private label brands,” argued Luís Moutinho. In value, the penetration rate of private label brands in Continente's sales is already around 35%. However, this is still far from the 48% that these items represent in the Portuguese large-scale distribution market – and in quantity they already represent more than half.

According to data provided by MC, based on an internal comparative analysis of a basket of products (at shelf prices, excluding card discounts), in Portugal, the average difference between the lowest and highest price is 8 percentage points, while in France it is 14 points and in the United Kingdom it reaches 27 points. For Luís Moutinho, “this indicates strong competition” and “a struggle to win over consumers and gain market share.”

According to the manager, the inflationary crisis experienced mainly in 2022 and 2023 “proved that retail in Portugal cushioned inflation.” “We lowered our margins. Upstream inflation was higher than downstream inflation for consumers. We are a price-competitive country. You can't survive in Portugal without having the best value proposition, in which price is essential,” he claims.