July 06, 2010

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...

John Burgess promoted to Vice President, Sales

Burgess’ responsibilities will include managing relationships with the independent dealer buying groups as well as a number of S.P. Richards Company key accounts. He will continue to report to Don Mikolasy, Senior Vice President of Sales, who said, “As Director of Sales with our corporate sales team during the last two years, John has effectively managed our relationships with the independent dealer buying groups and played an instrumental role in developing our groundbreaking strategic partnership with the TriMega Purchasing Association. In addition, John has been a key contributor to the development and introduction of Business Source®, our new proprietary brand of core office products developed exclusively for the independent dealer channel.”

Burgess added, “We’ve made some great progress on several joint initiatives to benefit our independent dealer customers. It’s an exciting time for independent dealers and we’re just getting started.”

Burgess joined SPR in 2006 as General Manager for the company’s Dallas distribution center and moved to the corporate sales team in January of 2008. An industry veteran, he worked for his family’s dealership outside of Chicago. Burgess also held a variety of senior sales management roles with both Sanford Brands and O’Sullivan Furniture.

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, Elite Image and Business Source. The company operates 44 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 2009 revenues of $10.1 billion.