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It's been a subtle change, one that has almost gone unnoticed in the business press. Never has there been a time when retail sales rose and retail employment fell, and yet that is just what has happened over the past year. This fundamental shift in the retail business model means that retailing has gone from a labor-driven to a technologically driven industry. This shift in resource drivers implies that the future labor market crunch which many retailers had feared may not become a problem at all.  »

In a start-up, the owners do most ¿ or all ¿ of the training. Usually, it's not formal training but rather the basic, on-shift "let me show you how I'd like that done" kind of training that has helped millions of small businesses get off the ground. If the business is successful, there's a point at which the owner feels overwhelmed by trying to do all the training him/herself and begins delegating at least some of the training to key employees. At that point, businesses tend to follow one of two schools of thought (pun intended!). »

The summer months were teeming with new introductions from manufacturers and newcomers who submitted products to us for review. My personal table overflowed with products I thought were dandy at first glance, inspiring me to take them home from the office or request more details at a show so I could test them out for myself. And for the first time this year, I had a hard time narrowing my choices down to our allotted 10 finalists each month. But nevertheless, here's my pick of new and new-again products that made me smile. »

Last month, we featured some basic coffee terms and lingo to guide you in the pursuit of speaking accurately with your barista. This month, we¿ve pulled together a glossary of commonly used terms when tasting and describing coffee. Like a good wine, good coffee has a language all its own. »

The Supermarket Guru Phil Lempert profiles specialty food winners and losers. »

November is American Diabetes Month, National Georgia Pecan Month, National Pomegranate Month, National Roasting Month, Peanut Butter Lovers' Month and Vegan Month. »

In October, Nigella Lawson hits the Food Network with the debut of ¿Nigella Feasts¿ on Sunday, October 1st at 1 p.m./ET. The English lifestyle/food star already enjoys a strong following both in the States and abroad. Don¿t be surprised if her cookbooks and licensed product lines make her star burn a little brighter this season. »