EXHIBIT 99.1
                                             NEWS RELEASE


For Further Information:

AT THE COMPANY:
Jeffrey L. Wright, Chief Financial Officer
Glenn L. Stolt, Treasurer
952.912.5500


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2002

G&K SERVICES COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF RENTAL UNIFORM COMPANY, INC.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, OCTOBER 4, 2002 -- G&K SERVICES, INC. (NASDAQ:GKSRA), today
reported the acquisition of Rental Uniform Company, Inc. ("RUC"). RUC was
founded in 1948 and has service locations in Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina
and South Carolina.

"The acquisition of RUC is another step toward completing our national footprint
and provides G&K entry into two additional top 100 North American markets," said
Thomas Moberly, chief executive officer. "RUC is a top-performing company in our
industry and an excellent addition to the G&K team. The acquisition of this
business continues our strategy of acquiring smaller corporate identity apparel
and facility service businesses that expand our customer base, market share and
geographic coverage."

No further details of the acquisition were disclosed. The company will discuss
the acquisition during its upcoming first quarter fiscal 2003 earnings
conference call.

ABOUT G&K SERVICES, INC.
Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, G&K Services, Inc. is a market leader
in corporate identity apparel programs and facility services in the United
States, and is the largest such provider in Canada. G&K operates over 130
processing facilities and branch offices, serving more than 140,000 customers.




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