July 06, 2009

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...

Richmond Distribution Center named SPR Distribution Center of the Year

S.P. Richards Company presented its Richmond, Virginia location the 2008 SPR Distribution Center of the Year award at the company’s recent Operational Excellence Awards dinner held during the Advantage Business Conference in New Orleans. This honor is awarded each year to the S.P. Richards distribution center that achieves the highest combined results in a number of quality measurements. These metrics include service levels, order accuracy, inventory accuracy, inventory turn, sales, profits and employee productivity.

Ray Sreca, Richmond General Manager, accepted the award on behalf of the employees of the Richmond Distribution Center. He commented on the honor, "I couldn’t be more proud of our employees back in Richmond. They’re the folks who make it happen every day. I’d also like to thank our wonderful customers and vendors for their unbelievable level of support."

Bob Fornal, S.P. Richards Company Executive Vice President of Operations, added, “We are very proud of Ray and the entire Richmond team. They understand what it takes to work together to provide outstanding service to our customers. We congratulate our employees at the Richmond Distribution Center on this tremendous honor.”

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, cleaning and breakroom supplies from all of the major industry manufacturers. S.P. Richards Company markets several private label lines under the brand names of Lorell, Integra, Sparco, Genuine Joe, Nature Saver, Compucessory, and Elite Image. The company operates 43 Distribution Centers in the United States and Canada.

Genuine Parts Company is a distributor of automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The Company also distributes industrial replacement parts in the U.S. and Canada through its Motion Industries subsidiary. S. P. Richards Company, the Office Products Group, distributes business products nationwide in the U.S. and in Canada. The Electrical/Electronic Group, EIS, Inc., distributes electrical and electronic components throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Genuine Parts Company had 2008 revenues of $11.0 billion.