Troubled Jeans Company Outsources Distribution
Innovo Group Inc., makers of Joe’s Jeans and Indie apparel, has decided to outsource its distribution, warehousing and customer service while it looks for ways to restructure its organization or sell it.
The Commerce, Calif.–based company announced on Mar. 14 that it hired Pixior LLC, a Los Angeles apparel distribution firm, to take over its product fulfillment services.
“We believe that outsourcing our product fulfillment services is a positive step to streamline our business as we plan to focus our efforts on design and sales, which is where we believe our core strengths lie,” President and interim Chief Executive Marc Crossman said in a statement. “We expect that this step will allow for long-term overhead cost savings while at the same time continue to provide the quality product fulfillment service necessary to meet our customers’ needs.”
In early March, Innovo hired securities firm Piper Jaffray & Co. to advise the California company on financial alternatives. One of those alternatives is to sell the company.
Innovo has had three years of steady losses as some of its labels, such as Fetish by Eve and Shago by Bow Wow, failed to generate anticipated revenue. In 2005, the company had a $16.4 million net loss on $108.6 million in sales. In January of this year, the company’s chief executive, Jay Furrow, was dismissed by the board of directors. —Deborah Belgum
