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 Vice President of Dealer Development, Jim O'Brien will address attendees at the ECI2 "Direction 2002" Users Conference during Thursday evening's dinner reception, June 6. Mr. O'Brien will discuss his views on the industry, as well as some of the marketing initiatives that S.P. Richards Company has underway in support of independent resellers.

Mr. O'Brien joined the industry in 1973 working his way through the ranks of the Federal/Champion/McKesson organization. He served as Regional Vice President for McKesson Office Products before joining S.P. Richards Company in July of 1987. After successfully guiding two distribution centers and opening a new facility in the Boston market, he was promoted to Division Vice President in 1992 and was responsible for the company's largest division until he was promoted in 1999. At that time, he joined the Headquarters group as Vice President of Dealer Development. In this role, he is responsible for the marketing and sales support for independent dealers. This includes the very successful Advantage Program and Advantage Business Conference.

As an almost 30-year veteran of the Office Products Industry, Mr. O'Brien brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our conference. He also serves on NOPA's Board of Governors.

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.