News Release

    --Company Expands its Cold Feet, Warm Shoes Fitting to Indianapolis--

 --Indianapolis Colts and United Way Team with Retailer in Community Event--

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More than 80 volunteers from Indianapolis-based Hat World and Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc. (NYSE: GCO) will team with the United Way of Central Indiana and Indianapolis Colts linebackers David Thornton, Gary Brackett and Kato June to fit more than 200 of Indianapolis' disadvantaged school-aged children with new shoes and warm hats for the holidays.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051220/CLTU084)

The event is Cold Feet, Warm Shoes, Genesco's annual community outreach program, and will take place on Tuesday, December 20 from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Washington Irving Elementary School, IPS #14, 1250 East Market Street.

Genesco Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Hal N. Pennington, along with Hat World President Ken Kocher and Chief Operating Officer Glenn Campbell, and Indianapolis Colts players will lead volunteers in the set-up and staffing of a mock shoe store created in the elementary school's gymnasium. Company volunteers will individually measure and fit each third-, fourth- and fifth-grader with their choice of shoes with the same individual service provided at any of Genesco's 1,700 stores across the U.S. In addition, the Company will provide warm Indianapolis Colts knit hats to each child participating in the fitting, donated by Hat World. It is the first time that Genesco has expanded the national event to Indianapolis.

"Bringing Cold Feet, Warm Shoes to Indianapolis is the perfect way to recognize Hat World's 10th anniversary and celebrate who Genesco is today," Pennington said. "It is important for us to give back to our neighbors in need in the communities where we live and work. We are a leader in the footwear and headwear industries ... hats and shoes are what Genesco does best ... so it makes sense for us to get involved and make a difference."

Indianapolis Colts players also will take an active role in the event, working side by side with the volunteers and assisting in every aspect of the event.

According to Indiana's "Blueprint to End Homelessness," more than 15,000 people in Indianapolis experience homelessness each year with a staggering 30 percent of those homeless being children.

"We hope to aid these children with some basic needs for the cold Indiana winter with properly fitting shoes and a warm hat," said Kocher. "And hopefully our visit will add a little cheer to the children's holiday season."

"Mobilizing community resources to help kids succeed in school is a special focus of our United Way," said Ellen K. Annala, president and chief executive officer of United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI). "Since 1991, through our Bridges to Success collaboration with Indianapolis Public Schools, we've been helping match businesses with individual schools to satisfy the needs of both. We know that when kids have their basic physical, mental and emotional needs met, they have a better chance of learning in school. Cold Feet, Warm Shoes is a great example of what's possible when we all work together to get results that matter."

The footwear and hats for the fitting are donated by Genesco's operating divisions, including Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Underground Station, Dockers Footwear and Hat World.

Cold Feet, Warm Shoes was started by Genesco in Nashville 16 years ago to provide needy individuals with a new pair of shoes for the winter and to empower them with a choice of shoe style and give them the same service a paying customer would receive at any of Genesco's retail stores.

Since the program's inception, more than 35,000 pairs of shoes have been donated to agencies in Nashville and across the United States.

Genesco Inc., a Nashville, Tenn.-based specialty retailer, sells footwear, headwear and accessories in more than 1,700 retail stores in the United States and Canada, principally under the names Journeys, Journeys Kidz, Johnston & Murphy, Underground Station, Hat World, Lids, Hat Zone, Cap Factory, Head Quarters and Cap Connection, and on Internet Web sites http://www.journeys.com, http://www.journeyskidz.com, http://www.undergroundstation.com, http://www.johnstonmurphy.com, http://www.lids.com, http://www.hatworld.com, and http://www.lidscyo.com. The Company also sells footwear at wholesale under its Johnston & Murphy brand and under the licensed Dockers and Perry Ellis brands. Additional information on Genesco and its operating divisions may be accessed at its Web site http://www.genesco.com.

SOURCE Genesco Inc. NOTE TO EDITORS: B-Roll footage of Cold Feet, Warm Shoes will be available at www.mpf.com/coldfeetwarmshoes on Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 5:00 p.m. CONTACT: Claire McCall of Genesco, +1-615-367-8283, or cell, +1-615-308-2483; or Jon Glesing of Hat World, +1-317-472-8112, or cell, +1-317-514-8849 http://www.prnewswire.com