For Immediate Release DATE: May 16 , 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….

The introduction of a new reseller tool designed to help dealers improve sales and profitability. This new Matrix Pricing software program allows a user to design and implement pricing strategies based on a variable margin pricing approach. Contracts can be constructed and assessed by applying specific price limits and gross margin targets to the entire S.P. Richards full line catalog. In addition, pricing strategies can be wrapped around the consumer sale-priced SPR Select catalog. Using the software, dealers will be able to play "what-if" scenarios and make appropriate pricing changes to help positively influence their expected gross profit margins, while maintaining a low price perception with their customers.

"Many of our customers have expressed a desire to move from a discount off list to a matrix priced selling strategy as a means of improving profitability," said S.P. Richards Director of Marketing, Larry Goodman. "This resource was developed to provide them a flexible and easy tool to help them achieve their objective."

Additional details on this new program are available through an S.P. Richards Company Sales Representative.

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 44 Distribution centers in the United States and Canada, including Horizon USA, its 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 2000 revenues of $8.4 billion