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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.2
                          [GENUINE PARTS COMPANY LOGO]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Jerry W. Nix, Senior Vice President - Finance
          George W. Kalafut, Executive Vice President - Finance & Administration
          (770) 953-1700


                              GENUINE PARTS COMPANY
                ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF JOHNSON INDUSTRIES, INC.


Atlanta, Georgia, October 29, 1998 - Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC). Larry
Prince, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Genuine Parts Company, announced
today that an agreement in principle has been reached to acquire Johnson
Industries, Inc. ("Johnson"), an independent distributor of ACDelco, Motorcraft,
and other automotive supplies. Genuine Parts Company will acquire Johnson in
exchange for a combination of cash and Genuine Parts Company common stock. This
acquisition is expected to be completed by December 31, 1998.

Johnson Industries, founded in 1924, is an Atlanta, Georgia based company with
distribution facilities in Atlanta, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Dallas, Texas,
as well as small operations in Santiago, Chile and Monterrey, Mexico. Johnson
stocks 50,000 SKU's and sells primarily to large fleets and new car dealers.
Johnson is an industry leader with annual sales volume of approximately $120
million.

Mr. Prince stated, "We are pleased to welcome Johnson Industries to the GPC
family. They are an extremely service oriented company and much of their growth
has been fueled by their responsiveness to the customer, which, of course, fits
our GPC philosophy of service."

Buddy Johnson, Chairman of Johnson Industries, commented, "We are excited to be
joining with Genuine Parts Company. This gives Johnson Industries a strategic
partner and the combination will enable us to achieve our aggressive growth
objectives."

Genuine Parts Company, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is engaged in the
distribution of automotive replacement parts from 62 NAPA Distribution Centers
serving approximately 5,600 NAPA Auto Parts Stores nationwide, in Canada through
its joint venture, NAPA/UAP, and in Mexico through its joint venture, Grupo Auto
Todo. The company also distributes industrial replacement parts in the U.S. and
Canada through its Motion Industries subsidiary and office supply products
nationwide through its office products subsidiary, S. P. Richards Company. EIS,
Inc. distributes electrical and electronic components from 56 stocking
facilities located throughout the United States.

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