Samoa Stationery and Books celebrated their 10th year anniversary since they established in 2008.
To mark the auspicious occasion, the company did exactly what it has made it simply the best in Samoa over the years. It allowed its customers to be part of the celebration, giving them plenty of options with special deals and lots of fun to be had.
A small thanksgiving service led by Pastor Fa’afetai Fata of the Apia Harvest Centre to acknowledge God’s love for blessing SSAB over the years.
“This is a day of celebration and also a special day for S.S.A.B to give back to our customers for their continuous support throughout the years,” said the Chief Executive Officer and Owner, Tofilau Fiti Leung Wai. “I am very honoured and humble to be used by the Lord to be a blessing to not only S.S.A.B employees but also to our Samoan people.”
“Ten years have just been full on with project after project. Today is a day that S.S.A.B wants to give back to the community by selling a lot of those products at prices where S.S.A.B isn’t making any profit but it’s just our way of saying thank you.”
Reflecting on the past 10 years, Tofilau said the growth of the company has been exponential and she puts this down to the support of Samoa.
Tofilau also believes that unity and hard work of her staff is the driving force behind S.S.A.B’s success.
“Bridging the caps in different areas of the market and through bridging those caps and demand we were able to set up shops in different locations,” she said.
“For ten years now SSAB was able to set up different branches to cater for all the different demands and caps in the market like Savaii, they needed good stationery there because there are more than 50 schools in Savaii and no good book store is there.
“What we do is that as soon as a demand or cap is identified we try to fill those caps and in addition to that we provide quality products and also reasonable prizes and the clients are happy for us being there.
“The most special highlight over the years is seeing the staff grow here because SSAB has made a difference in their lives not only financially, spiritually but everywhere and that is God’s heart is for them to be blessed.”
However, with every success there is always a challenge and the biggest challenge for the owner as well as the company was in terms of finance.
“We need money to set up all of this and this is where I thank ANZ Bank as well as the National Provident Fund for supporting us from the start,” she said.
“Another is the delay of shipment where we have to make peace with the client because their products are not arriving on time and it cost money.
“We are a business so any delay will cost us money.”
Tofilau is a lawyer by profession however; to many people nowadays they know her as an education entrepreneurship so when she was asked if she misses being a lawyer her response was “I use to love my work as a lawyer but I wouldn’t say I miss it.”
“But doing some of the work here at S.S.A.B. also requires my legal skills in reading tender documents and making sure we are compliant,” she said.
S.S.A.B also held a Golden Carnival for all the children and family of Samoa to enjoy.
“It is a very exciting day for the kids too because we have the Golden Carnival for kids to enjoy,” she said. “They are actually welcome to come to our fun day where we have the bouncing castles and much more for free here at S.S.A.B.”
Lastly Tofilau acknowledges all those who support the company throughout the years and most especially God who she said is the source of the blessings that SSAB has endured.
