John Lewis Boss Raises Questions Over Black Friday Extravaganza

Black Friday, the US-inspired shopping extravaganza, hit Britain last year, with shoppers literally falling over themselves to snap up discount goods just before Christmas.

But John Lewis's managing director has raised questions about the widely hyped sales day, telling the BBC: "We've got to ask if it's right to concentrate trade so much in that one period."

Andy Street added: "My personal hope is that this is the high water mark for Black Friday."

John Lewis saw the biggest week in its history with sales of £179.1 million over the week including Black Friday - the period blamed by M&S for its delivery problems - with website traffic up 300% during the early hours on the day.

Street said: "What was really, really clear to us is that one of the tests for every brand was 'would they manage the fulfillment challenge?' That is what customers were relying on."

The Black Friday phenomenon caused a major shift in the festive shopping timetable as the week at the end of November saw the greatest trading rather than the days leading up to December 25 as had previously happened, with shoppers rushing to take advantage of the discounts.

Here are just 14 moments from last year that could have you in fierce agreement with Andy Street about Black Friday.