FINANCIAL CONTACT: JAMES S. GULMI (615) 367-8325
MEDIA CONTACT:     CLAIRE S. MCCALL (615) 367-8283


                         GENESCO TO PRESENT AT GOLDMAN'S
                      SMALL-CAP CONSUMER/RETAIL CONFERENCE
                        --COMPANY ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER
             COMPARABLE STORE SALES AND CONFIRMS EARNINGS GUIDANCE--

         NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 8, 2001 -- Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) announced
that it will make a presentation at the Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Small-Cap
Consumer/Retail Conference on November 9, 2001 at 1 p.m. EST. The presentation
will be webcast live and may be accessed through the Company's internet site,
www.genesco.com.

         The Company also announced its comparable store sales for the third
quarter ended November 3, 2001. Overall same store sales rose 1% compared to the
same period last year. Journeys same store sales were up 8% for the period,
while the Jarman Group was down 3% and Johnston & Murphy was down 16%.

         Ben T. Harris, Genesco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We
are pleased with the performance of Journeys, which represents almost half of
the Company's total sales. These strong results in a difficult retail
environment indicate that Journeys enters the Holiday selling season with the
products its customers want. The improving sales trend in Underground Station
and Jarman is further evidence that the new leadership team's approach to
merchandising is the right one.

         "We remain comfortable that we will be able to report earnings for the
third quarter within the range of $0.31 to $0.34 per share that we established
in our most recent guidance. Our guidance for the balance of the year is
unchanged at this time; however, we continue to be aware that our outlook
depends to a greater degree than usual on the general retail environment and the
way our customers react to external events."

         The Company plans to release its third quarter earnings and host its
quarterly conference call on Tuesday, November 27, 2001.




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         The Company also announced that it has reached an agreement with the
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to contribute a lump sum toward
sediment removal in a lake adjacent to the Company's former leather tannery in
Whitehall, Michigan. The agreement, which resolves a longstanding dispute with
Michigan environmental authorities over what the authorities claim was
tannery-related contamination in the lake, will release the Company from further
environmental remediation liability related to lake sediments for a payment of
$3.35 million, much of which the Company has provided for in earlier periods.
The Company expects to provide for the remainder of the contribution with an
additional after-tax charge to discontinued operations of approximately $700,000
in the third quarter. This charge will not be reflected in earnings per share
from continuing operations.

         This release includes certain forward-looking statements, including all
statements that do not refer to past or present events or conditions. Actual
results could differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking
statements in this release and a number of factors may adversely affect future
results, liquidity and capital resources. These factors include unforeseen
developments or the discovery of presently unknown conditions that affect
reported earnings per share prior to the release of quarterly results. They also
include lower than expected consumer demand for the Company's products, whether
caused by further weakening in the overall economy or by changes in fashions or
tastes that the Company fails to anticipate or respond appropriately to, changes
in buying patterns by significant wholesale customers, disruptions in product
supply or distribution, the inability to adjust inventory levels to sales and
changes in business strategies by the Company's competitors. Any greater than
expected weakness in demand or disruption in supply could have an especially
pronounced effect on the Company's performance in the fourth quarter, because of
the importance of the Holiday selling season. Other factors that could cause
results to differ from expectations include the Company's ability to open, staff
and support additional retail stores on schedule and at acceptable expense
levels and the outcome of litigation and environmental matters involving the
Company. The impact of the September terrorist attacks on the United States, the
responses by the U. S. government, and their effects on consumer demand, product
supply and distribution and other conditions, limit the Company's ability to
predict results and increase the uncertainty inherent in forward-looking




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statements. Forward-looking statements reflect the expectations of the Company
at the time they are made, and investors should rely on them only as expressions
of opinion about what may happen in the future and only at the time they are
made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statement.

         Genesco, based in Nashville, sells footwear and accessories in more
than 800 retail stores in the U.S., principally under the names Journeys,
Journeys Kidz, Johnston & Murphy, Jarman and Underground Station, and on
internet websites www.journeys.com and www.johnstonmurphy.com. The Company also
sells footwear at wholesale under its Johnston & Murphy brand and under the
licensed Dockers brand. Additional information on Genesco and its operating
divisions may be accessed at its website www.genesco.com.













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