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….

S.P. Richards Company will be hosting the industry's largest independent reseller conference and vendor exposition during their fourth annual Advantage Business Conference being held this July 14-18, 2002 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Record-breaking attendance is anticipated for this year's conference with expectations of over 3,000 attendees. The Advantage Business Conference will feature 35 educational seminars, a bigger-than-ever Office Products Expo with over 150 of the industry's top manufacturers exhibiting, and keynote speakers that will inspire and inform.

This year's presenters include Thomas Winninger, founder of the Winninger Institute for Market Strategy; Jim Cathcart, founder and CEO of the Cathcart Institute; Marcus Buckingham, the Global Practice Leader for the Gallup Organization's StrengthsFinder profile and the highly-entertaining Harry Anderson with his mix of comedy and magic.

"Each year we challenge ourselves to make the Advantage Business Conference the "Best Ever," said Jim O'Brien, S.P. Richards Vice President of Dealer Development. "The unprecedented response in registrations suggests we have done it again. Dealer attendance in 2002 will be an incredible 50 percent more than the record-setting pace of last year. It is a real testimony to the value of the program and the commitment that independent dealers are making towards personal and professional growth. It will be an extraordinarily exciting week in Las Vegas!"

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, its computer supplies subsidiary and Norwestra, a Canadian based Business

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 2001 revenues of $8.2 billion.