THOM Group is Europe’s leader in affordable jewellery. The group operates across France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Spain and China with 9 brands, including well-known names like Histoire d’Or, TrésOr, Stroili, and OROVIVO. With rapid international growth and a diverse retail portfolio, THOM Group needed a Procurement approach that could keep pace with its scale and complexity.
Types of tools used
CRM, LMS, Collaboration, HR Automation, Marketing
Before Najar
Strong IT negotiators, but limited access to IT-specific benchmarks
Procurement function newly created and bandwidth limited
No clear roadmap to prioritise spend
Renewals often managed reactively
Heavy workload managing RFPs and contracts
Pressure to deliver measurable P&L impact
After Najar
Strengthened negotiations with market insights and IT expertise
Najar acted as an extension of the team, covering more ground
Built a structured roadmap to identify quick wins and long-term opportunities
Anticipated renewals to avoid auto-renewals and regain control
Day-to-day support from Najar’s IT buyer reduced workload pressure
€800K in combined cost reduction and cost avoidance across 9 months
A strong Procurement team looked for complementary support to go further
When the Group Indirect Purchasing Director joined THOM Group, the mission was to build and structure the Procurement function across indirect categories, with IT spend being the largest.
The IT department had historically managed SaaS Procurement directly. They were good negotiators and maintained solid vendor relationships. But even with these strengths, there were limits: the team lacked reliable IT benchmarks, making it difficult to know whether contracts were truly competitive. Without external references, negotiations relied more on instinct and relationships than on clear market data.
“We had limited access to IT benchmarks and I really needed more support managing all the different projects and RFPs.”
Managing all of THOM’s indirect categories, the Procurement function faced a heavy workload. Juggling RFPs, vendor negotiations, and contract renewals for multiple countries and brands left little time to step back and build strategy. As a result, Procurement risked being reactive rather than proactive.
Renewals in particular were a challenge. Automatic renewals left little room for renegotiation, and without proper anticipation, opportunities were slipping away. This lack of visibility also meant there was no clear roadmap to prioritise projects, identify quick wins, and deliver results that matched the company’s financial objectives.
The issue came down to capacity and coverage, not capability. Procurement and IT were stretched thin, and there was a strong need for additional expertise and hands-on support.
As the Group Indirect Purchasing Director explained:
“We needed to build a clearer view of the IT spend and establish a structured roadmap to prioritise opportunities and see what quick wins we could get.”
Step into the cockpit of financial excellence
The impact of enhancing THOM Group’s Procurement team
To address these challenges, THOM Group partnered with Najar. Not to replace Procurement or IT, but to strengthen them. As the Group Indirect Purchasing Director put it:
“The objective was to work together in order to regain control, to set priorities, and to deliver P&L impact as we have strong business and finance objectives.”
The first step was strategy. Together, THOM Group and Najar built a structured roadmap for IT spend, mapping renewals and sourcing projects. This not only highlighted where the quick wins were but also gave all stakeholders a clear, shared plan.
With Najar’s IT negotiation expertise and market knowledge, THOM Group gained additional leverage to review existing contracts and identify new optimisation opportunities. The results were immediate and significant: in just 9 months, the partnership delivered a total value of €800K in cost reduction and avoidance, averaging 23% per negotiation.
Support went beyond negotiations. Najar’s IT buyer integrated quickly, working closely with THOM Group’s team and engaging daily with internal stakeholders. Though external, they operated like an internal member, managing projects and tenders with efficiency and a clear focus on securing the best outcomes for THOM Group. Even when a negotiation seemed finalised, they would continue exploring levers on pricing, scope, and contractual terms to improve conditions until every opportunity was fully optimised.
This hands-on collaboration reduced workload pressure and strengthened the relationship with the IT and Procurement teams, reinforcing their position as trusted business partners. By taking on the more time-consuming, admin-heavy negotiations and renewals, and proactively sourcing vendors for new needs, Najar freed the Procurement team to concentrate on high-impact strategic initiatives.
One major success story was the renewal of one of THOM Group’s largest software contracts. Initially thought to be an automatic renewal with no room for negotiation, Najar managed the process under pressure and secured an optimised outcome.
As the Group Indirect Purchasing Director highlighted:
“Even with long-term partners where we didn’t expect to see results, we gained a lot from the partnership.
Despite the tight timeline, Najar managed the process and secured an optimised outcome. It highlighted both their expertise and the importance of anticipating renewals.”
For THOM Group, the partnership with Najar wasn’t about outsourcing Procurement but rather about amplifying what the team already had. With Procurement and IT already in place, the challenge was capacity, visibility, and leverage. Najar provided all three.
“Over time Najar proved its value… we see the real added value with what we manage internally and also the trusted relationship that has been built with the IT team.”
By sharing the load, Najar allowed the Procurement team to remain focused on strategic priorities, confident that critical negotiations and renewals were being expertly managed.
The most impactful change was that even with a capable Procurement team, THOM Group proved that partnering with Najar creates more bandwidth, more leverage, and more impact than going it alone.
