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Note 1 - Business and Organization
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Notes to Financial Statements  
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]
1.
Business and Organization
 
The SPAR Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("SGRP"), and its subsidiaries (together with SGRP, the "SPAR Group" or the "Company"), is a supplier of merchandising and other marketing services throughout the United States and internationally. The Company also provides in-store event staffing, product sampling, audit services, furniture and other product assembly services, technology services and marketing research services. Assembly services are performed in stores, homes and offices while those other services are primarily performed in mass merchandise, office supply, grocery, drug, home improvement, independent, convenience and electronics stores.
 
Merchandising services primarily consist of regularly scheduled, special project and other product services provided at the store level, and the Company
may
be engaged by either the retailer or the manufacturer. Those services
may
include restocking and adding new products, removing spoiled or outdated products, resetting categories "on the shelf" in accordance with client or store schematics, confirming and replacing shelf tags, setting new sale or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. Other merchandising services include whole store or departmental product sets or resets, including new store openings, new product launches and in-store demonstrations, audit services, special seasonal or promotional merchandising, focused product support and product recalls. The Company also provides technology services and marketing research services.
 
The Company operates in
10
countries and divides its operations into
two
reportable segments: its Domestic Division, which provides those services in the United States of America since certain of its predecessors were formed in
1979,
and its International Division, which began operations in
May 2001
and provides similar merchandising, marketing, audit and in-store event staffing services in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Mexico, South Africa, and Turkey.
 
The Company continues to focus on expanding its merchandising and marketing services business throughout the world.
 
The Company's Domestic Division provides nationwide merchandising and other marketing services throughout the United States of America primarily on behalf of consumer product manufacturers and retailers at mass merchandise, office supply, grocery, drug, dollar, home improvement, independent, convenience and electronics stores. Included in its clients are home entertainment, general merchandise, health and beauty care, consumer goods and food products companies.
 
The Company executes its domestic field services through the services of field merchandising, auditing, assembly and other field personnel (each a "Field Specialist"), substantially all of whom are provided to the Company and engaged by independent
third
parties and located, scheduled, deployed and administered domestically through the services of local, regional, district and other personnel (each a "Field Administrator"), and substantially all of the Field Administrators are in turn employed by other independent
third
parties.  Substantially all the Field Specialist services were provided by an affiliate to the Company, SPAR Business Services, Inc. ("SBS"), for this reporting period through
July 2018
when the Company terminated its relationship with SBS.  The Company is reevaluating its domestic business model of using independent contractor Field Specialists provided by other
third
parties in light of changing client requirements and regulatory environments and intends to begin testing an employee based model for certain domestic clients that are requiring the Company to use employees as Field Specialists.
 
The Company's international business in each territory outside the United States is conducted through a foreign subsidiary incorporated in its primary territory. The primary territory establishment date (which
may
include predecessors), the percentage of the Company's equity ownership, and the principal office location for its US (domestic) subsidiaries and each of its foreign (international) subsidiaries is as follows:
 
 
Primary Territory
 
Date
Established
 
SGRP Percentage
Ownership
 
 
Principal Office Location
Domestic
           
United States of America
 
1979
 
100%
 
White Plains, New York
National Merchandising Services, LLC
 
2012
 
51%
 
Fayetteville, Georgia
 Resource Plus of North Florida, Inc.
 
2018
 
51%
 
Jacksonville, Florida
International
           
Japan
 
May 2001
 
100%
 
Tokyo, Japan
Canada
 
June 2003
 
100%
 
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
South Africa
 
April 2004
 
 51%
 
Durban, South Africa
India
 
April 2004
 
 51%
 
New Delhi, India
Australia
 
April 2006
 
 51%
 
Melbourne, Australia
China
 
March 2010
 
51%
 
Shanghai, China
Mexico
 
August 2011
 
 51%
 
Mexico City, Mexico
Turkey
 
November 2011
 
 51%
 
Istanbul, Turkey
Brazil
 
September 2016
 
 51%
 
Sao Paulo, Brazil