Liz Claiborne, whose brands include Mexx, Juicy Couture and Kate Spade, is turning over its global sourcing to Hong Kong-based Li & Fung, which already handles supply chain management for brands including American Eagle, Tommy Hilfiger, and Kohl's, Jonathan Birchall reports. "I do think this will be seen as a bellwether, because we were the first ones out, and we stood by a model of owning and managing the sourcing on our own," says Bill McComb, CEO of Liz Claiborne. He characterizes the change to underlying shifts in the global supply chain since the end of the old GATT …

The American Association of Advertising Agencies Media Conference and Tradeshow (March), followed by its Leadership (April) and Account Planning (July) conferences, will run as usual, if a bit subdued, Max Lakin reports. Similarly, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's two-day program (May), which is being billed as a recession-relevant exercise, is "full-steam ahead," says Tarah Remington, the group's member-relations director. But it will be "pretty bare-bones," she says, without even an opening reception unless it's completely sponsored. The Association of National Advertisers says it will opt for more Webinars and call-in models for its conferences. Its Integrated Marketing …

Two major shopping center developers are reducing hours of operation at malls across the country, Ylan Q. Mui reports, as the retail industry struggles to adapt to the severe drop-off in traffic and consumer spending. Westfield Group says that starting next week, its malls will open a half hour later, at 10:30 a.m., and close a half hour earlier, at 9 p.m., on weekdays. On Saturdays, they will open at 10 a.m. as usual but close a half hour earlier, at 9 p.m. Sunday hours are unchanged. And Simon Property Group, which moved up the …

An English version of a best-selling book about problem solving that was written for Japanese middle-schoolers is going on sale in the U.S. in early March. Its target is the business market. Problem Solving 101 by Ken Watanabe is a practical tutorial just 128 pages long. Using juvenile-looking illustrations and flow charts, it walks readers through a diagnosis and the steps toward a solution, writes Del Jones. One example is about a rock band that can't get an audience at concerts. Watanabe instructs readers to think like doctors trying to cure a patient. …

Coupon usage has surged about 10% in the past four months, according to coupon-processing agent Inmar, and shoppers are increasingly getting them online or having discounts sent to their smartphones and rewards cards. And stores are jumping further into the high-tech end of couponing, Timothy W. Martin reports, with text messaging and other digital-driven programs. Online coupons account for only 1% of all coupons offered nationwide but redemptions jumped 140% last year, according to Inmar. Manufacturers are attracted to digital-coupon delivery in part because of its 13% redemption rate -- far above the 1% redemption rate for printed coupons. …

Here's the new ad (after an HP ad).

American Express is offering customers with whom it no longer wants to do business $300 to pay off their bill and cancel their credit card, Wendy Kaufman reports.

A new survey from the CMO Council of 406 marketing executives finds that corporate politics, siloed data, poor adoption of customer relationship management systems, lack of top management support and not having ownership of profit and loss responsibilities are the chief vexers of marketing chiefs, Andrew McMains. "Calibrate How You Operate" suggests that such internal obstacles are distracting marketers from the core task of distinguishing their brands from those of their competitors. And they may partly explain CMO's short tenures compared to CEOs. CMOs are getting sidetracked by day-to-day tactical efforts or "random acts of marketing," and aren't …

Apparently there is a limit to what airlines can tack on an extra fee for -- at least if no one else does it. Saying the policy has become a competitive disadvantage, US Airways Group is dropping the fees it charged for sodas, coffee and bottled water. The change is a retreat from the airline's "à la carte" pricing in which passengers pay more for any services beyond the basic fare. US Airways has said it expects to reap as much as $500 million this year from the fees, Mary Schlangenstein reports, including extra costs for select seats and …