Department store House of Fraser reports 2.7 percent rise in sales

LONDON (Reuters) - British department store House of Fraser on Wednesday reported a 2.7 percent rise in underlying sales over the Christmas period, helped by record trading in the last two weeks of December. House of Fraser also said that Black Friday sales rose 2.7 percent compared to last year, with online business accounting for around 41 percent of total sales across the six day period. The firm's Christmas period runs from the six weeks to the end of the year. House of Fraser competes with the likes of John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Debenhams which all update on Christmas trading on Thursday. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Kate Holton)