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….

Horizon USA, S.P. Richards' computer supplies subsidiary headquartered in Reno, Nev., has opened a distribution operation in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Horizon's second distribution center in Canada will service resellers in the western part of the country, with a full range of printer supplies, data media storage, business machines and accessories from leading industry manufacturers. Horizon opened its first location in Toronto, Canada - a sales and distribution operation - in February 2001.

"The growth of our business in Canada has been truly phenomenal," said Roger Woodward, President of Horizon. "This new distribution center gives us a great opportunity to continue that dramatic growth by providing better service to our customers in the West."

Horizon Canada offers a broad range of printer supplies, business machines, data media storage and accessories from leading industry manufacturers that include Hewlett-Packard, Epson, Brother, Canon, Xerox, Okidata, Maxell, Imation, Verbatim, Sony, Iomega, and Tektronix. In addition to aggressive pricing and same day shipping, Canadian dealers can also expect Horizon to provide tools that will support their sales efforts.

This commitment to help Canadian dealers includes several marketing and sales support tools such as product flyers and postcards introducing new products. Additionally, Horizon has several training and management resources available to help dealers take advantage of new product opportunities and effectively manage the selling process.

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.