SPAR Group Announces Industry's First Seamless Global Retail Service Operations System

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 26, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPAR Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:SGRP) ("we", the "Company" or "SPAR"), a leading global supplier of retail merchandising and other marketing services, today announced the launch of its SPARtrac™ Global Retail Service Operations System. The enhanced system, culminating years of research, development and testing, has been designed to provide retailers and manufacturers the most comprehensive set of tools for more efficiently managing retail services including general merchandising, demonstrations, promotional events, sales assist, audits and assembly.

Panos Mastrogiannis, SPAR Group's Chief Information Officer, commented, "Our global, Fortune 1000 Clients are actively seeking more efficient customized solutions to manage increasingly complex merchandising and compliance needs across their global retail locations.  SPARtrac seamlessly manages everything from job initiation to reporting while also providing unlimited data collection capabilities in real-time, worldwide. We routinely collect more than 1000 data points in a single store visit. Competitive systems only collect a fraction of that amount."

By providing more operational visibility and control, SPARtrac provides a clearer picture of what is happening on the sales floor and speeds up reaction times to maximize product movement, while optimizing field efficiencies at the same time. The combination of more visibility, speed, control, accuracy and efficiency in moving product through the store leads to more sales and profits. A few specific key benefits include:

• More than 170 applications for automated management and visibility of everything from personnel and workflow management to data collection and reporting to issue tracking and resolution. Most competitor systems manage only a handful of applications.
• Unlimited data point collection.  Most collect only a few.
• Uninterrupted data collection with no connectivity needed. With most others, merchandisers need to find data connection to collect store data, slowing the work down considerably.
• Multi-lingual capabilities that seamlessly connect multiple countries around the world, thus improving the visibility and management of international operations.
• Adaptive technology: SPARtrac integrates with client systems, is customizable to solve specific client needs, and incorporates the latest technologies and tools from across the globe, including image recognition software for more efficient auditing.
• Workflow management and data reporting by country, district, retailer, state, store, fixture, UPC, merchandiser and more.
• Six Sigma reliability levels with 24/7/365 tech support worldwide.

The SPARtrac Global Retail Service Operations System is fully operational now for use by all SPAR Clients. Its launch coincides with a re-launch of SPAR's website, which includes a portal for clients to log into the SPARtrac system and access real-time data to aid in making critical business decisions quickly. The new dashboard allows Clients to quickly see topline results and identify trends with graph and chart summaries, view an execution heat map to see where store visits are scheduled, completed and pictures have been taken, access the SPAReyes Photo/Video Manager, track issues, and drill down to specific data of interest to them with a quick click. Clients can also access all data wherever they are using the system's SPAR On The Go mobile app.

Both the new SPARtrac Global Retail Service Operations System and the message throughout the new website reinforce SPAR's focus on the end result of what it helps its clients do: Get more out of the store™. SVP Marketing Dave Musiel stated, "The primary focus of many of our competitors is on selling product into the store. At SPAR, we maximize our Clients' results by thinking differently. It's not about how much product gets in the store. It's about how much gets out. Our job, and the job of our technology, is to optimize the sell-through as quickly, efficiently and informatively as possible."

About SPAR Group

SPAR Group, Inc. is a diversified international merchandising and marketing services Company and provides a broad array of services worldwide to help companies improve their sales, operating efficiency and profits at retail locations. The Company provides merchandising and other marketing services to manufacturers, distributors and retailers worldwide, primarily in mass merchandiser, office supply, value, grocery, drug, independent, convenience, toy, home improvement and electronics stores, as well as providing furniture and other product assembly services, audit services, in-store events, technology services and marketing research. The Company has supplied these project and product services in the United States since certain of its predecessors were formed in 1979 and internationally since the Company acquired its first international subsidiary in Japan in May of 2001. Product services include restocking and adding new products, removing spoiled or outdated products, resetting categories "on the shelf" in accordance with client or store schematics, confirming and replacing shelf tags, setting new sale or promotional product displays and advertising, replenishing kiosks, providing in-store event staffing and providing assembly services in stores, homes and offices. Audit services include price audits, point of sale audits, out of stock audits, intercept surveys and planogram audits. Other merchandising services include whole store or departmental product sets or resets (including new store openings), new product launches, in-store demonstrations, special seasonal or promotional merchandising, focused product support and product recalls. The Company currently does business in 9 countries that encompass approximately 50% of the total world population through its operations in the United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa, India, China, Australia, Mexico and Turkey. For more information, please visit the SPAR Group's website at http://www.sparinc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking, including (without limitation) any expectations, guidance or other information respecting the Company's establishing or strengthening any retail partner relationship with our clients, our collection or analysis of retail data or its value, our provision of insights to our clients, whether such insights will lead to our clients' competitive advantage, whether such insights will lead to our clients' better understanding retail trends, whether a better understanding of such insights and retail trends will lead to our clients' leveraging them to further their in-store sales objectives, our development of new or improved ways to use technology in-store, finding the best, brightest and most experienced professionals to join us, the Company's five corporate objectives (growth, customer value, employee development, productivity & efficiency, and earnings per share), building upon and investing in further innovations to strengthening the Company's strong foundation and business, leveraging compatible global opportunities, improving on the value we already deliver to clients, growing our client base, customer contract expansion, continuing to strengthen our balance sheet strength,, growing revenues and becoming profitable through organic growth and acquisitions, attracting new business that will increase SPAR Group's revenues, improving product mix, continuing to maintain or reduce costs and consummating any transactions. You should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements and similar information because they are based on the Company's plans, intentions, expectations and estimates (although it believes them to be reasonable) and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unpredictable factors (many of which are beyond the Company's control) that could cause them to fail to occur or be realized or to be materially and adversely different from those the Company planned, intended, expected or estimated. 

You should carefully review the risk factors described in the Company's most recent Annual Report (See Item 1A - Risk Factors) and any other risks, cautions or information contained or incorporated by reference into the Company's most recent Annual Report or more recent Quarterly and Current Reports as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (each a "SEC Report"). The Company's forward-looking statements, risk factors and other risks, cautions and information (whether contained in this news release, the update conference call referenced above or any applicable SEC Report) are based on the information then available to the Company and speak only as of the applicable date. New risks and uncertainties arise from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company to predict these matters or how they may arise or affect the Company. Over time, the Company's actual assets, business, capital, cash flow, credit, expenses, financial condition, income, liabilities, liquidity, locations, marketing, operations, performance, prospects, sales, strategies, taxation or other achievements, results, risks, trends or condition will likely differ from those expressed or implied by the Company's forward-looking statements, and such difference could be significant and materially adverse to the Company and the value of your investment in the Company's Common Stock. The Company does not intend or promise to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, risk factors or other risks, cautions or information (in whole or in part), whether as a result of new information, risks or uncertainties, future events or recognition or otherwise, except as and to the extent required by applicable law. 

All of the Company's forward-looking statements and other information contained in this news release or presented during the update conference call referenced above are expressly qualified by all such risk factors and other risks, cautions and information contained or referenced in each of the Company's applicable SEC Reports.

CONTACT: For more information, contact:



         Panos Mastrogiannis

         Chief Information Officer

         (914) 332-4100

         panosm@sparinc.com

Source: SPAR Group

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