EXHIBIT 99.1


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


               GENESCO TO CLOSE FACTORY, REDUCE OPERATING EXPENSES
                  --EXPECTS ANNUALIZED SAVINGS OF APPROXIMATELY
                      $2.7 MILLION WHEN FULLY IMPLEMENTED--
  --REAFFIRMS GUIDANCE FOR SALES AND EARNINGS BEFORE CHARGES AND PROVISIONS --


NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 1, 2002 ---- Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) announced plans to
close its one remaining manufacturing plant and to implement other initiatives
designed to streamline its operations and reduce operating expenses.

         The Company said that it expects to end operations in its Nashville,
Tennessee Johnston & Murphy shoe factory by late summer.

         According to Ben T. Harris, Genesco chairman and chief executive
officer, "This move will complete a decade of work to transform Genesco from
what had been thought of as a manufacturing company into a lifestyle-focused
footwear marketer. With the continuing evolution of the Johnston & Murphy
customer's lifestyle toward a more casual orientation, demand for the
traditional welted dress shoes produced in our Nashville plant has reached a
level at which it can be better satisfied from other sources. We are applying
the same product outsourcing expertise that has long enabled Johnston & Murphy
to offer the finest in dress casual and casual footwear from a variety of
sources."

         Results for the Johnston & Murphy operating segment will reflect the
operating losses (estimated at $1.7 million to $2.0 million before tax benefits,
primarily in the first half of fiscal 2003) arising from the phase down of the
factory until it is completed. The Company believes the operating losses during
the phase down will be fully offset by the savings from company-wide




cost-cutting initiatives in the course of fiscal 2003, although the offset will
primarily occur in the second half of the year.

         The Company also announced it intends to reduce expenses by eliminating
approximately 40 positions from its Nashville headquarters workforce. The
Company also said that it would recognize asset impairments in certain
underperforming stores, primarily in its Jarman group, in the fourth quarter
ending February 2, 2002. It expects results for the fourth quarter to reflect
various charges and provisions, including charges, associated with the plant
closing and related inventory adjustments, facility consolidation, asset
impairment and employee severance, totaling $3.5 million to $4.0 million, after
tax, or $0.13 to $0.15 per diluted share.

         The Company reaffirmed its previously announced expectations for sales
between $220 million and $227 million for the quarter and between $744 million
and $751 million for the fiscal year and earnings per share before these charges
and provisions between $0.55 and $0.60 for the quarter and between $1.47 and
$1.52 for the year. The Company expects to announce operating results for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year on March 6, 2002.

          Harris concluded, "The steps we are announcing today will continue to
sharpen our focus on serving our customers' distinct lifestyles by bringing them
the right footwear and accessories in the right shopping environments. They also
reflect our commitment to achieve our goals for financial performance by taking
appropriate actions to control costs and eliminate underperforming assets. We
expect these initiatives to yield after tax cost savings of up to $2.7 million
annually once they are fully implemented in fiscal year 2004."

            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 the inability to
execute the factory closing and other initiatives described in this release on
schedule and without unanticipated costs or disruptions and unanticipated
adjustments to or changes in preliminary and projected operating results for the
fourth quarter and the year before they are reported. These factors 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. Other factors that could cause
results to differ from expectations include the outcome of litigation and
environmental and other regulatory matters involving the Company. Current
economic conditions and international uncertainties 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 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 875 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.