Company History

Founded in Macon, Georgia in 1848 by Samuel P. Richards, the company quickly became the South's leading Civil War-era bookstore. Seven years later, "J.J. and S.P. Richards: Book, Music and Fancy Store" opened in Atlanta. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, S.P. Richards entered the wholesale paper business, and after the Depression, paper became the company's only business.

In 1940, the wholesale office supply division was established, and soon became the company's fastest growing segment. The paper division was sold in 1969, bringing office supplies to the forefront as S.P. Richards' sole focus.

S.P. Richards has come a long way from the day over 150 years ago when Samuel P. Richards gave up his traveling merchant's wagon to open his Macon bookstore. Today, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, S.P. Richards is a leader in service-oriented, dealer-targeted office products distribution. A company with a long, proud history: S.P. Richards.

"This has been our largest sale day since we began business, amounting to $1,542 cash! We sold over $1,200 to a Government Officer for the Army, paper and stationery.'' Samuel P. Richards, diary entry dated May 28, 1862.