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John Lewis sales slip on Black Friday hangover

LONDON (Reuters) - John Lewis, Britain's No. 1 department store group, saw year-on-year sales slip for the week to Dec. 20 as record figures from November's Black Friday deals dried up further demand for home technology such as TVs and iPads.

The employee-owned firm said on Tuesday year-on-year sales for the week fell 2.4 percent, with sales in its electricals and home technology division down 10.8 percent.

That performance was a sign of "the growing significance of Black Friday on the shape of pre-Christmas trade," it said.

"Black Friday", a heavily promotional shopping frenzy day imported from the United States, helped John Lewis to post its biggest ever week for sales in its 150-year history earlier this month, and pushed British retail sales growth to a 27-year high.

Total sales for the week to Dec. 20 still grew by 6.5 percent on the week before to 160.6 million pounds, however, as customers left it late to complete their Christmas shopping.

Its fashion and home categories both had record sales weeks, the firm said.

(Reporting by Neil Maidment, Editing by Paul Sandle)