Foreign retailers set up shop in Manhattan

Foreign shoppers are seeing more of the kinds of shops they might see back home when they come to Manhattan, as the weak dollar is encouraging foreign retailers to expand their brands here. That has kept retail rents rising in the city, while they have remained flat nationally. Soho, the meatpacking district, Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue have been targeted because they are popular with foreigners, while Times Square is less attractive. An Italian shoe retailer, Iris, has just opened a small boutique at 827 Washington Street in the meatpacking district.