SPAR AND F&M MERCHANT GROUPS FORM ALLIANCE

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Dec. 4, 2002 - SPAR Group, America's leading retail merchandising company, formed a strategic alliance with F&M Group. The alliance will allow SPAR to use F&M's retail experience to help customize their services for the grocery class of trade. F&M will be able to use SPAR's expertise in retail service programs, marketing, sales information and technology to help retailers and manufacturers grow their business.

The technology package and resources that SPAR assembled will give more retailers a competitive advantage in store sets, new store openings and schematic updates. Retailers will be able to take control of store remodels, new item introductions and schematic updates based on their own strategic objectives rather than the manpower resources of other organizations.

More manufacturers can benefit from SPAR for the same reasons and will know the exact value of the services they need to bring items to market quicker. SPAR's technology will also enhance their return on investment and verify that all vendors are participating on an equitable level.

F&M is an independent marketing and merchandising organization dedicated to the general merchandise and health & beauty care sectors. Its three principals have a combined 110 years of experience with leading consumer packaged goods manufacturers and leading retailers in the supermarket, drug store chain and mass market industries. Rick Tilton spent 26 years as president of the General Merchandise Distributors Council (GMDC) and 15 years with Mead Consumer Producers, primarily as vice president of sales. He won the GMDC Lifetime Achievement Award and holds relationships with many senior industry executives. Roy Fossum spent 24 years with Alpha Beta becoming vice president of GM/HBC, headed the Alpha Beta-Lucky transition team and was vice president of Grocery/HBC for both Lucky and Fleming. Jeff Manning spent 29 years with Bashas, where he was vice president of GM/HBC/Pharmacy. He was chairman of the GMDC and the FMI. F&M Merchant Group is based in Lewisville, Texas.

SPAR pioneered Internet and communications technologies that help their 4,500 merchandising specialists produce the fastest and most accurate service possible and the highest return on investment (ROI) for their clients. SPAR prides itself on its speed-to-shelf capabilities and typically merchandises an entire national chain of 2,000 stores in hours of day-one of the project. They utilize the Internet to deploy merchandising specialists, schedule displays and inventories, and send plan-o-grams. Teams of specialists work quickly to capitalize on opportunities and resolve issues in real-time. Using the Internet, they upload project completion status to the corporate database in real time, and clients can watch their entire national chain being successfully merchandised in real time.

To learn more about SPAR and its unmatched retail merchandising programs, call 914-332-1400, email  servingyou@sparinc.com or check www.sparinc.com. SPAR is a marketing services solutions company that provides retail merchandising, database marketing, market research, eTraining, teleservices and sales information to American business.