SPAR Group (SGRP) has received approval from the Chinese government to establish a Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise as a direct investment of the SPAR joint venture company with SIMS Trading Company Limited, a division of CITIC Pacific Limited.

SPAR Group said it will hold a 50% ownership interest in the new entity, which will be headquartered in Shanghai and operate under the name, SPAR (Shanghai) Field Marketing Company Ltd.

SPAR plans to provide services to help companies improve their sales, operating efficiency and profits at retail worldwide. The company provides in-store merchandising, in-store event staffing, RFID and other technology.

The company said SPAR (Shanghai) Field Marketing can offer a wide array of specialized marketing services, including in-store merchandising, data collection and in-store demonstration for retailers and manufacturers throughout China, covering more than 50 cities, including Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Beijing, Dalian, Chengdu, Chungqin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and the Pearl River Delta.