For Immediate Release DATE: August 20, 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….

Effective immediately, Martin Bonk, Vice President of Sales has been promoted to Vice President of Operations.

Bonk's new responsibilities will involve focusing on the operations side of S.P. Richards Co. and guiding a system-wide implementation of the company's E.R.P. In his new role, Bonk will report to Senior Vice President of Operations, Bob Fornal, who said, "Bonk will be a strong contributor to the operating side of the company with his comprehensive background in all facets of the business."

"I am very pleased to be moving back to the operating side of S.P. Richards," said Bonk. "I am looking forward to becoming part of our continued process improvement program with the primary focus of exceeding our customers' expectations of S.P. Richards."

Bonk joined S.P. Richards Co. in Orlando in 1983, after having spent some time in the office supply industry as a Sales Representative with Burroughs. In 1991, Bonk was promoted to General Manager of the Milwaukee DC and then to Sacramento in 1993. Bonk moved to Atlanta in 1999, to assume the position of Vice President of Sales, with responsibility for several key national accounts. He served in this role until his recent promotion.

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