Retailers from afar like South Florida

MIAMI, May 5 (UPI) -- International retailers have found that South Florida, with its well-heeled customer base, is a good place to build U.S. brand name recognition, analysts say.

Although consumer spending is slowing across the United States, South Florida is "a strong market for wealth," retail consultant Stan Eichelbaum told The Miami Herald Monday.

In recent months, Italian designer Anna Molinari opened her first U.S. store, Blumarine's, in Miami. Spanish designer Adolfo Dominguez launched a flagship store at Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables. And Brazilian designer Carlos Miele is set to open in South Florida in the next few months, the Herald reported.

''Our American retailers have plumb run out of new ideas,'' Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Trend Report, told the newspaper.

"That's opened the door for these European and Asian retailers who are willing to experiment," he said.