Innovo on the Auction Block?

Innovo Group Inc., the Commerce, Calif.–based clothing maker that designs blue jeans under the Joe’s Jeans and Indie labels, has hired Piper Jaffray & Co. to advise the company on a possible sale or merger of the company, which is publicly traded on the NASDAQ.

Innovo, which also does private-label manufacturing for American Eagle Outfitters and Target, recently ousted its chief executive, Jay Furrow, who presided over the company when it posted three straight years of net losses. Piper Jaffray will advise the company’s board of directors about strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value, including strategic acquisitions, a sale and/or merger of the company, or raising capital through the sale of security and assets.

Paul Guez and his brother Hubert own more than 25 percent of Innovo’s stock. Guez is a pioneer in the designer jeans business as the founder of Sasson jeans. He’s president of Blue Holdings Inc., makers of the Antik Denim, Yanuk and Taverniti So Jeans labels. —Deborah Belgum