For Immediate Release DATE: January 22, 2001

S.P. Richards Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genuine Parts Company (GPC:NYSE) and leading wholesale distributor of business and office supplies, announced today….

Boyd Rice has joined S.P. Richards Company as Vice President and Chief Information Officer.

In his new role, Rice will assume responsibility for all Information Services activities at S.P. Richards Company, taking an instrumental role in the company's ERP implementation.

"I am thrilled to have Boyd Rice join the team at S.P. Richards," said Pete Viehweg, Senior Vice President, Logistics and IS. "His extensive background with technology, and experience in the office products industry make him uniquely qualified to lead the Information Technology area at S.P. Richards as we continue to upgrade our information tools to support our customers."

Before joining S.P. Richards Company, Rice served as Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Shamrock Foods Company, a regional food distributor in Phoenix. He led the implementation of an ERP system, and three distinct warehouse management packages. Prior to this, Rice served as Director of Information Technology for Boise Cascade, developing their network infrastructure and automating branch office functions.

Earlier in his career, Rice was employed at United Stationers as Vice President of Logistics Systems and held various technology and management positions with Zellerbach Paper Company, Pacific Gas and Electric and Honeywell.

"I am really excited about joining S.P. Richards and returning to the office products industry," said Rice. "I have always respected S.P. Richards as a company with integrity, and as a great team of people able to build strong partnerships with their customers."

Rice received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Statistics and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley.

S.P. Richards Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genuine Parts Company (GPC: NYSE), distributes a wide spectrum of business products to office products resellers throughout the U.S. and Canada. These products include consumable office supplies, office furniture, computer supplies, consumer electronics, and facilities supplies from all of the major industry manufacturers. S.P. Richards Company markets several private label lines under the brand names of Sparco, Nature Saver, Compucessory, and Elite Image. The company operates 43 Distribution centers in the United States and Canada, including Horizon USA, it's computer supplies subsidiary and Norwestra, a Canadian based Business Products Wholesaler.

Genuine Parts Company is a diversified distribution and services company that operates four wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company is a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; industrial replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through its Motion Industries subsidiary; office products nationwide in the U.S. and Canada through its S.P. Richards Company subsidiary; and electrical and electronic components throughout the U.S. and Mexico through its EIS, Inc. subsidiary. Genuine Parts Company had 1999 revenues of $7.9 billion and net income of $377.6 million.