Nahved Rehman exits Next and joins Monetate to become its new VP, Strategy Consulting

Nahved Rehman has left Next, where he spent almost five years, most recently serving as Product Channel Manager - Optimisation, to join Monetate.

He is taking on the role of VP, Strategy Consulting at the AI driven personalisation platform specialist.

In a LinkedIn post, he said: “After five fantastic years customer side at Next, I'm thrilled to be joining Monetate. Having worked closely with the platform as a customer, I've seen first hand the impact great experimentation can have and I'm excited to now be on the other side of the fence, helping brands unlock that same value.”

He added: “Huge thanks to the brilliant team at Next for the opportunities and support and I'm looking forward to the next chapter, learning from an incredibly talented team, and getting stuck into what's ahead.”

Reasons to be cheerful

Next’s full price sales rose 10.6% in the nine weeks to 27th December. Full-year pre-tax profit guidance was upgraded, now expected to grow by 13.7% to £1,150 million.

Aarin Chiekrie, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “Next’s Christmas trading update gave investors plenty to be jolly about, capping a solid year 2025 for the UK fashion powerhouse. In the nine weeks to 27th December, full-price sales rose by 10.6%, ahead of the group’s previous upgraded guidance for 7.0% growth.”

“The better than expected finish to 2025 saw it upgrade its profit guidance once again. Full-year pre-tax profits are now expected to come in at around £1.15 billion, marking the third profit upgrade in a little over five months."

Chiekrie adds: "Unwrapping some of the headline figures, sales growth continues to be driven by its online channel, which already accounts for more than half of group sales. Within that, overseas sales have continued to grow at an eyewatering pace, up 38.3% over the festive period, helping to buoy the more sluggish growth of just 1.4% in its retail stores."

"Next also gave a sneak peek into its outlook for the new financial year, with pre-tax profits forecast to grow by 4.5% to around £1.2 billion. The slowdown comes as this year’s numbers have benefitted heavily from both favourable summer weather and major disruption at M&S.”

“But with Next’s track record of under-promising and over delivering, this growth target looks a touch conservative. It remains one of the brightest sparks in the UK retail scene, and there’s potential for more success if it can continue nailing its overseas expansion.”

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Online retail will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards will open for entries in April. They celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Thursday, 15th October.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.