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Abstract(s)
The main objectives of this thesis were to better understand the retailing market in
Portugal, focusing on the specific case of Sonae’s Continente and their Private Label
program, in order to assess its competitiveness. For that, it was needed to understand
how the market was structured, who were the major players, what drove the consumers
to purchase private label products and which were the pricing strategies adopted by the
largest companies.
Through this study, it was possible to find out that Sonae’s Continente and Jerónimo
Martins’ Pingo Doce were the main retailers operating in Portugal and their actions had a
clear impact in the rest of the competitors’ behavior and profits. Regarding the Private
Labels, it was possible to verify that the brand Continente has been gaining and increasing
importance at Sonae retailing over the past years, reinforced by the financial and
economic downturn that led consumers to purchase cheaper products. When compared
to its competitors and with Pingo Doce in particular, Continente distinguish themselves for
having a segmented PL program with three different brands within the Continente name:
Continente, Continente Seleção and Continente É. In order to fully understand the rivalry
dynamic in the Portuguese market and the positioning of Sonae, there were studied the 4
variables of the marketing-mix, with special focus on the Pricing Model. The competition
between the retailers relies essentially on the pricing. Thus, the price war started by Pingo
Doce in May 2012 led to a general promotional era, in which all the retailers have regular
promotional campaigns and significant price cuts. It was concluded that Continente acts as
a price-taker, following the price changes, promotions and discounts made by Pingo Doce.
Nevertheless, Sonae is still a major reference on the Portuguese retail and the Private
Label Continente is growing at a pace that allowed Sonae to invest in its
internationalization, through the expansion of the brand to foreign markets.