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, Roger Woodward will assume the role of Managing Director of Norwestra, S.P. Richards' Canadian based wholesale subsidiary. Woodward will remain President of Horizon USA, the computer supply subsidiary of S.P. Richards Company. "Recognizing the tremendous growth opportunity in Canada, we have looked for ways to bring a more focused approach to expanding our business," said Wayne Beacham, CEO and President of S.P. Richards Co. "We have asked Roger Woodward to accept responsibility for Norwestra to help us achieve this objective."

"I'm very excited about this new challenge," said Woodward. "We've got a great team in Canada that is dedicated to helping our customers grow and prosper. I'm looking forward to working with them to aggressively capture the numerous opportunities that we have in this marketplace."

Woodward joined S.P. Richards Co. in Tampa in 1990. In 1992, he was promoted to Operations Manager of the Baltimore DC and again in 1993 to a Merchandising Manager position in Atlanta. Woodward was appointed to President of Horizon USA in 1995.

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.