In 2021, Continente Online, the leader in online food retail in Portugal, celebrated its 20th anniversary and launched its new e-commerce platform in June.

Thanks to its improved search system, the new Continente Online website provides an overall enhanced shopping experience through easy browsing. Customers can look up more than 30 thousand products and get tailored suggestions. Improvements were also made at the check-out stage.

In 2021, MC's banners reinforced their offering regarding quick delivery solutions by establishing partnerships with leading market operators. Over 565 stores are available on these digital platforms.

These solutions constitute an essential complement to the banners' value proposition, increasing Customer accessibility and convenience.

In 2021, “Cartão Continente” (Continente loyalty card) app users were introduced to personalised spin the wheel challenges (“Mecânica da Roda”) and the digital “Advent Calendar”.

MC pursued its mission, delivering savings to more than 4 million families enrolled in its loyalty programme. The programme increasingly focuses on personalised features, new partnerships and launching innovative digital gamification initiatives.

Continente was the first European brand to open a store with no check-outs or product scanning.

Aimed at simplifying and improving Customer experience, Continente Labs is equipped with machine vision technology enabling Customers to enter the store, remove products from the shelf and exit the store without queuing at the cashier.

“Continente Plug & Charge”, a parking service with charging stations for electric vehicles is available at Continente supermarket car parks across the country. In 2021 the number of charging stations totalled 110.

This initiative relies on funding from the European Investment Bank and the European Fund for Strategic Investments, encouraging Customers to use electric vehicles when shopping at Continente stores. It also contributes to our fleet electrification and can charge Associates vehicles.

In 2021, we implemented new digital tools to increase efficiency in the non-food area.

We have introduced a geo-referencing app, which allows to assign locations to articles at the warehouse and optimize their organization and facilitate their identification.

As a result of these changes, we increased productivity by around 15% and reduced stocks by between 10% and 15%.

The “Continente do Bebé” (Baby's Continente) brand was introduced at the beginning of 2021. The range consists of specialised products, including baby food, toiletries, wipes, and nappies. The range is designed and adapted to each growth stage from birth to 36 months.

The “Continente do Bebé” brand has already surpassed €15 million in sales and aims to organise all baby segment products under the same brand and image.

In 2021, we expanded and consolidated the fresh meat & poultry and chilled fish & seafood counters operating models within the scope of the multi-annual Mercado dos Frescos (Fresh Market) project.

The new operating models, implemented in all Continente, Continente Modelo and Continente Bom Dia stores, reinforce excellence in Customer care and service, an even greater focus on the quality and freshness of the products offered, supported by clear, simple and more digital processes that assure a high level of efficiency.

«O Nosso Croissant» (Our own croissant) is one of the greatest innovations ever in the food area at MC. With more than 6 million units sold since its launch, it is a product recognized for its quality, with impressive levels of Customer loyalty. Produced in Portugal, «O Nosso Croissant» is rolled manually, presenting an irresistible texture and flavour.

«O Nosso Croissant» was recently recognized by Consumers with the award «the best croissant» promoted by the New Men magazine.

Aberdeen-Angus Continente® and Limousine Continente® fresh meat brands were awarded the animal welfare international certification, per international “Welfare Quality” protocols. This certification includes the entire production chain that encompasses the production, fattening and transport of animals, including the slaughter and processing of the various pieces. This fresh meat is available to Customers at the fresh meat & poultry counter and self-service counter.

The certification is based on four main parameters, feeding, health, housing and the freedom to express natural behaviours. This certification encompasses more than 150 producers, from all over the Portuguese territory, and ensures compliance with all criteria through internal and external audits carried out twice a year by an independent entity. The animal welfare certification proves the high quality of beef sold in Continente stores.

In 2021, BAGGA took the best it has to the home of the Portuguese with «BAGGA Delivery» and reinforced its offer with a new pastel de nata (egg tart pastry) aligned with the needs of our Customers - a product with -50% sugar, but which maintains the authenticity and tradition that characterizes it.

We also hosted conversations about Diversity and Inclusion and supported charitable causes, in partnership with Mastercard and WFP

The brand «Continente Seleção» (finest selection) brand presented itself in 2021 with a new image, reinforcing the positioning of modernity and sophistication. This brand comprises more than 50 products made with the best ingredients, exclusive recipes and unique flavours that stand out due to their high-quality standards, distinctiveness and authenticity.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Meu Super hosted a digital event that brought together more than 400 people, including franchisees and guests. The occasion was marked by reflecting on market trends and sharing experiences and challenges, and by celebrating its anniversary by offering a car.

With a modern and attractive value proposition, Meu Super is increasingly valued by consumers, being the food retail brand that opened the highest number of stores in Portugal in 2021. In 2021, the brand was awarded the Consumer Choice Award for the seventh consecutive year and the Five Stars and Excellentia Award for the fifth successive year.

In 2021, ZU boosted its growth in both product sales and services and opened 10 new stores.

ZU invested in its online channel plus pet grooming and veterinary services. In turn, Customers benefit from a one-stop shop for all their pet needs.

In 2021, note! strengthened its “Escola” (school) mission. It relaunched the “Tribo” (tribe) and “Professores not'aveis” (notable teachers) loyalty programmes and pursued its school district project aimed at greater proximity with the local school Communities.

Within the scope of this mission, note! also introduced new trendy stationery ranges geared towards the student Community and the “studies” product range, developing content that is very much sought after by this clientele.

Go Natural transformed its supermarkets, adopting a new market positioning based upon 3 main pillars: organic, balanced, and eco-friendly.

Go Natural carried out a major product range overhaul within this new framework, adding non-organic items and lower-priced organic items. The store layouts were also reviewed. The banner also invested heavily in its online supermarket.

Wells launched the first Portuguese online store that amalgamates perfumery, para-pharmacy, and opticians and offers a wide range of services.

This digital initiative reinforces Wells' specialist image and its omnichannel strategy. It also showcases a comprehensive brand strategy, offering Customers the convenience of purchasing more than 10,000 products in a sole location.

Wells launched a new wide-ranging health and beauty concept, with offerings in perfumery, make-up, cosmetics and professional hair care.

By way of an innovative and unique concept in the market, the new Wells stores bring together the best beauty brands in para-pharmacy, perfumery and luxury cosmetics, mainstream and professional brands.

In 2021, Dr. Well's boosted its network by opening two more clinics and maintained its focus on improving value proposition/Customer experience, namely by offering new services - a partnership with Lusíadas Health Group hospitals specialised in plastic surgery -, and the launch of a new website, offering patients the option of booking appointments online and obtaining more information regarding the treatments available.

In 2021, Arenal strengthened its market positioning in the north of Spain by opening six new stores and broadened its beauty range in addition to improving its online channel, namely by investing in the platform to optimise navigation and site functionalities. Arenal's value proposition was distinguished at the “Perfumery of the Year Awards 2021” for “Best Contribution to the Development of the Selective Market” by the magazines BeautyProf and Selectivo.

With a total area of 70 thousand sqm, the Azambuja Distribution Centre is the largest food warehouse in Portugal. The expansion works were inaugurated by the President of the Portuguese Republic on October 14, 2021, creating more than 300 new jobs.

The new building was built to LEED Gold certification standards, providing the means to improve sustainability throughout the operation, avoiding the production of over 2,000 tons of CO₂ per year, by optimising transport routes and producing electricity at the Azambuja photovoltaic plant, which is one of the largest rooftop self-consumption plants on the Iberian Peninsula.

The project results from an overall investment of circa €50 million related to the expansion of the Azambuja and Maia warehouses.

The Azambuja warehouse expansion project included the integration of the new fresh fish centre and included a high investment in improving the ergonomic conditions of the workstations through automation solutions and support of the most critical functions.

The construction of this centre enabled the Company to increase efficiency in fleet management, reducing the number of vehicles making deliveries to stores, reducing travel by 1,445 thousand km.

The "Agile Way" initiative aims to promote and implement agile methodologies. It focuses on increasing maturity within the scrum framework and the evolution of MC's lean waterfall model.

In 2021, this transformative initiative materialised in scaling up the work methodology, impacting 22 product teams and elevating the degree of autonomy to deliver end-to-end projects.

The IT Labs team is responsible for innovation and researching impactful new technologies, testing them and incentivising their swift uptake within MC businesses.

In 2021, IT Labs executed 14 proofs of concept, having assessed more than 130 technological solutions. These efforts directly impacted the organisation, namely incorporating two of these solutions. One of which is the «Goodbag».

Regarding information systems, one of the main transformational initiatives in 2021 was the kick-off of the "Foresight" project. The aim is to deliver foundational technological capabilities proactively.

This project highlights the consolidation of the asset-asset infrastructure, the future-proofing of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and cloud migration for data exploration solutions.

Associate health, safety and well-being are a priority. MC focuses on fostering a "zero accidents" culture and promoting a healthy and safe working environment to ensure our Associates' physical, mental, and social well-being.

In 2021 the Company recorded a 11.9% decrease in the frequency index and a 5.9% reduction in the injury severity rate compared to 2020, thus reflecting an increasingly more robust and embedded safety culture.

Throughout the years, MC has developed several initiatives to promote a personal/professional life balance for its Associates.

In 2021 the Company pursued its efforts engaging in new initiatives such as «#PrecisamosFalar» (#weneedtoTalk), an awareness-raising initiative that provides the necessary tools to improve well-being. Other initiatives included a programme to promote weight management and tackle obesity and the «Better Together» app to improve communication between Associates.

The work developed was also recognized, in 2021, with an honourable mention in the category «Internal Communication: internal newsletter» in the «Meios & Publicidade» awards, as well as in the «Human Resources» awards, in the category «Talent Management» and «Best Management of the Pandemic in the People Management Perspective».

The Company boosted its Diversity and Inclusion agenda by providing training sessions for its population, namely on unconscious biases and focused on inclusive recruitment; developed and tested a new integration model, and closed processes and procedures that have allowed accelerating the pathway towards diversity focused on uniqueness.

MC was the first Portuguese company to sign the CEO Pledge of the LEAD Network, thus committing to developing initiatives to promote equal opportunities between men and women.

MC's new leadership vision is to "Lead Better" and is based on five principles - to overcome, be in close proximity, be unique, grow, and be valuable. These are the guiding principles for all business leaders within the Company.

Leaders should work closely with their teams, and dealings should be informal, creating trust and autonomy. The status quo can be challenged, and professional dealings should be based on generosity and promoting development opportunities whilst continuously ensuring the job is executed with excellence.

Continente is the official sponsor for group A under-21 men's football national team and became the official sponsor for group A women's football national team via a protocol established with the Portuguese Football Federation.

Continente's sponsorship commitment signals the importance of equal opportunities for both genders and the endeavour of investing in a team that is taking its initial steps in international competitions.

We fight food waste by developing initiatives to accelerate the product flow of items at risk of stockout (e.g., adding pink labels to goods nearing their expiry date and creating “Caixas Zer0% Desperdício” – Zer0% Waste Boxes). We also increased consumer awareness (e.g. Missão Continente School and joined forces with the United Against Waste Movement). Additional initiatives developed by MC include offering its Associates surplus food items by making these products available in social rooms located within our stores and warehouses and donation of food surplus to social support and animal welfare institutions.

Via Elergone Energia, in March 2021, MC entered into a long-term agreement to purchase circa 100 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year from Shell Energy Europe Limited.

This contract constitutes an important milestone towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, in line with the Sonae Group objectives. MC is fully aligned and committed to achieving 100% carbon-free operations within the next two decades, ten years before the EU, which aims to be climate-neutral by 2050.

The conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems are crucial to protecting biodiversity. Within this scope, MC developed several projects to promote bird diversity, including the Águia Caçadeira (circus pygargus) project or the partnership with Ocean Alive.

In 2021, Continente also became part of the «Goodbag» international network. Exclusively designed 100% organic cotton shopping bags, with a built-in mini chip that helps the Planet, when they are purchased, with the planting of trees, and each time they are reused, with the collection of plastic from the oceans.

Alongside its member-producers, the Continente Producer's Club (CPC) established a Declaration for Sustainability based on 11 principles and several initiatives to promote sustainable production and consumption.

The initiatives cover all areas of the agri-food sector and include, among other topics, best production, packaging and nutrition practices.

The Missão Continente campaign “Luzes com presença” (shed light on charitable giving) raised a total of €1.2 million. All proceeds reverted to 11 Portuguese charitable organisations such as the Portuguese Red Cross and SOS Voz Amiga (SOS Friendly Voice), among others, focused on providing relief to people who find themselves in or at risk of facing social isolation and loneliness.

The campaign “Luzes com presença” was supported by the PSP, GNR and the National School of Public Health and its partners: TVI, Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), Entrajuda and Banco Santander.