Silicon Valley. From California to Lisbon

The retailer is reviewing its project's business plan. The company ensures that there are no plans to reduce staff in Portugal

Sonae's entry into Angola is getting closer to becoming a reality. Dinheiro Vivo found that the Angolan authorities (ANIP - National Agency for Private Investment) already gave the green light to the project and that the Portuguese retailer is finalizing the final details and reviewing the business plan to launch the first of five supermarkets in the Angolan market. There is no exact date yet but the entry in Angola will certainly be 2013.
Speaking to Dinheiro Vivo, a Sonae spokesperson revealed that "business in Angola is proceeding at the pace the market allows, it is a long path that we have been treading. We are in the last stage before launching the project. We are finalizing some details to launch the project", he said, without risking a date for the launch. The entry into Angola will be made through a partnership announced in April last year with Condis - company which majority owner is Isabel dos Santos - and will be realized with the construction of four Continente supermarkets in Luanda and Huambo . With a minimum investment commitment of 79 million, the company led by Paulo Azevedo thus gives the first step in the internationalization of its food segment.
In Portugal, the same source revealed that a "slight expansion of stores" is being carried out, with the opening of five stores in the first nine months of the year, adding: "We do not plan to close any stores"
Regarding possible layoffs, the same source revealed: "We transferred all our employees from Portimão to other stores," referring to the 120 workers of the city's Retail Park's Continente, which was destroyed in a fire in September. "We have a stable number of employees and no reduction is expected."PERIOD Sonae is close to taking the first step in the internationalization of its food segment. Angola is the chosen country.