Panama City – La Importadora Selecta, Panama's oldest home furnishings supplies company, is launching its first ''megastore'' in September 2000. It is the country's first such home furnishings store.

Henry Striem, president and sole owner of Importadora for the last 36 years has orchestrated the company's growth for decades. He began his career with the company at age 14, and reached partner status at 24. Since then, Striem has grown a successful business.

Striem insists that his company be flexible. The new store reflects that. ''I want the megastore to reflect the changes in the Panamanian lifestyle and meet these new demands,'' Striem said. ''We have people in a hurry, families with two working parents, students and young professionals setting up apartments and homes. They need affordable furnishings quickly.

''We feel there are five elements to consider when decorating a house: floors, walls, windows, furniture and fabrics. Fabrics play an important role as we focus on replacing and redoing furniture, upholstery and curtains, etc. So, you can change colors and go with new trends,'' he said.

The company stocks products in its six primary retail/wholesale stores in order to offer a plethora of interior decorating supplies in each of those five categories.

Striem regularly attends all major global trade shows. He said it's essential for his company to be present at the shows in order to stay apprised of developments. ''Not only are the trends, fabrics and colorways important, but so, too are new materials and technology,'' said Striem. ''We travel to all the global shows of significance and we cover the giants such as High Point, Heimtex, etc.'' Striem said the company also attends shows for window covering and wall coverings. He said that Importadora will also attend the Asian trade shows because of the price advantage.

La Importadora Selecta serves the medium and high-end markets. ''We offer quality products,'' said Striem. ''Trademarks and brand names are very important to us, and we stand behind what we sell. We are probably one of the very few companies in Latin America that has a true emphasis on brands.''

By emphasizing quality and brand names, Importadora has developed licensing agreements with Simmons mattresses and Rolisse blinds and now manufactures both in Panama. Striem lists exclusive upholstery representation of Robert Allen, Beacon Hill and Barrows. In window treatments he represents Graber, Rolisse and Bally; for carpets he carries Shaw and Mohawk, among others.

Another major facet of Importadora's business is the contract/hospitality sector. ''We service the needs of the architects, government, banks, hotels and casinos,'' said Striem. ''We are working on several new projects now to include private casinos. Twenty hotel projects are either underway or will be soon in the country. We can function as a one-stop shop for these projects, since we offer all key elements of interior furnishings, warehousing, cut and sew and installation. We even work as the specifier on the contract projects.''

La Importadora Selecta's stores are strategically located to reach clients in different price ranges with diverse tastes. Four shops are located in Panama City, one on the other side of the Canal and a showroom/cum wholesale operation in Colon, Panama's Foreign Trade Zone. The megastore, which will be the seventh in the La Importadora Selecta group, will have a dominant position in the central business district between El Dorado and Via Brazil.

The megastore will offer no interior design services, but it will contain the largest assortment of goods offered in Panama. It has 25,000 square feet of retail space and another 25,000 square feet of warehousing overhead. Making it more attractive to customers are Importadora's cash-and-carry concept and 24-hour delivery. Some in the industry believe that this store will affect the future of how people shop for home furnishings in Panama and the region.

''We want to cater to the customer, so we will have it all under one roof with 'rooms' set up on display, and we will even have bedding and mattresses,'' Striem said. ''All products will be grouped and coordinated for convenience.''

Striem explained that Panama's ubiquitous air conditioning systems help determine which products are popular. Many air conditioners in the country lack dehumidifying systems, allowing humidity and mold thrive in the homes. The high humidity makes wallpaper peel easily, so the trend is now toward the use of fabrics on the walls coordinating with the rest of the room furnishings.

Fabrics flow into the Colon Free Trade Zone warehouse from the Orient, Spain, Egypt, Italy and from America. ''We bring in containers of textile products from Europe and the Orient but not from the U.S.A.,'' Striem said. ''And we only export textile products from the Zone.'' Striem stressed the need for U.S. fabric producers to be more price competitive. ''We would need good volume discounts from the U.S.A. for us to purchase goods. It is a price and quality issue for us.''