Nova and four partners bought the clothing factory in 1988. The company remained in business even as others around it fell to overseas competition. Fall River Shirt’s 165 workers still can churn out 5,000 shirts in a week.

In 2006, the company developed its own line of shirts to complement its contract work for department stores, distributors and designers. Stores in 30 states carry the “Singles and “Custom” lines.

The company also developed a “modular” sewing system to make easier the handling of small batch orders and custom requests that come from independent stores.

In a February interview, Nova asked a rhetorical question: “The question is, ‘Can we sell the shirts? The answer to that is in -- retailers love us.”

Still, Nova and his partners were on the lookout for an investor who could pump $1.5 million into the plant to finish revamping it, to hire more people and expand its marketing program.

According to Nova, Abboud will maintain Fall River Shirt’s existing lines and produce his own designs there as well, opening up the possibility of new hiring at the plant.

“As far as I know, the marketing plans that we put in place will continue,” Nova said. “I think the plan is to run them both.”

JA Apparel said Abboud’s decision won’t affect its operations. Last year, the company had $300 million in sales.

"Mr. Abboud’s return has no practical impact on our business,” the company said in a statement e-mailed to The Journal.“The Joseph Abboud lifestyle brand has grown by double-digit margins in each of the last four years and is bigger than any one individual. The brand embodies sophisticated American style and our excellent growth since Mr. Abboud’s departure is strong evidence that we are connecting with our extremely loyal customers.”