Sonae Distribuição started in 1985 by the merger of two large retailers, Modelo and Continente.

Modelo was owned by the Sonae holding, while Continente was the Portuguese and Spanish operation of the French retailer Promodès, known by the ensign Continent elsewhere.

Thus, it was part-owned by its French competitor, Carrefour, who sold their stake to Sonae for €345 million on 16 November 2004.

The Continente ensign disappeared from Spain after the 1999 Carrefour-Promodès merge.

The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Continente stores, Continente Bom Dia (convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in urban locations, designed for more frequent purchases of everyday life, 800 m2 (8,600 sq ft)) and Continente Modelo stores (hypermarkets of proximity, with an area of about 2,000 m2 (22,000 sq ft)).