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 S.P. Richards Advantage Business Conference, held from July 14-18, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev., drew record attendance for the fourth consecutive year, providing over 3,300 conference attendees, an expanded educational program and the largest Office Products Expo in the event's history.

The ABC 2002 Office Products Expo showcased 64,000 sq. ft. of exhibits with over 180 exhibiting companies displaying a comprehensive array of office products, services, equipment and technology. Attendees were enticed with a two-hour preview the evening before the day of the Expo, Tuesday, July 16.

Most of the 52 seminars sessions and forums were filled to capacity, covering vital issues facing the office products industry, from "Selling Against Price," to "How to Provide Superior Customer Satisfaction." The focus was on sales, management, new business opportunities and technology.

The ABC 2002 officially opened Monday morning, July 15, with an energetic keynote presentation by Jim Cathcart, founder and CEO of Cathcart Institute. Cathcart speaking on the importance of training your team, explained the "Leader's Dilemma": "What if I train my people and they leave? But what if you don't train them…and they stay."

Marcus Buckingham, a senior consultant with The Gallup Organization, outlined the four keys to becoming an excellent manager during an ABC keynote luncheon address. Buckingham stressed the importance to "match the right person to the right position."

Popular independent business speaker Thomas Winninger, founder of the Winninger Institute for Market Strategy, shared his candid insight of today's business world at the General Session, Tuesday, July 16. He focused on the importance of defining and differentiating your company, with simple questions, such as, "Who are you?", "What do you do?", "Who are you doing it for?" and "What makes you different?"

During the final evening's dinner, two lucky individuals walked away ecstatic owners of sports cars and rousing applause greeted the announcement that next year's ABC will be in New York.

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.