SOLOMON Star has apologised to Tongs for claiming in an article last weekend that Tongs was dissatisfied about new hardware company BNBM.
Tongs was never in contact with Solomon Star and out of the blue, the paper published an article in its Saturday 25 January edition about Tongs being dissatisfied with BNBM.
Tongs responded by threatening to sue Solomon Star for false reporting and defamation.
Solomon Star publicly apologised to Tongs in its Tuesday 28 January edition.
In the contrary to the news item, Tongs said, it welcomed BNBM and competition in the hardware industry.
“It is good for customers to have choices when they need materials. New Hardware stores have been opening doors in Honiara almost every year. From Henderson to White River is full of Hardware stores. We acknowledge that BNBM will not be the last to open up in Honiara.
“Customers have different reason for buying from different hardware stores.
“Some customers prefer cheap price above anything else. They don’t care about quality, customer service, etc. The price is good and they buy.
“Others buy from a store because of the quality. Price may be higher, but customer wants his building to stand against cyclone, earthquake, termites, and last longer.
“The recent Vanuatu earthquake in December 2024, is a reminder of the harshness of the conditions of our region, and the reason why customers buy quality rather than cheap price.
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of cheap price is forgotten,” Tongs said.
Tongs said it wants a level playing field for all hardware business to compete in and therefore it is unfair when some hardware businesses receive exemptions, giving them an unfair advantage over other who were not given exemptions.
“We’re a local company, we pay duty and tax and you can check with Customs and IRD, we invest in Solomon Islands and have social responsibility and support local charities, including the hospital.
“We don’t pay any politician for favours. All we ask is for the government is to be fair and treat all hardware business the same,” it added.
