Stock Repurchase Program - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended		6 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		4 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	6 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011 February 2010 Repurchase Program	Feb. 22, 2010 February 2010 Repurchase Program Maximum	Feb. 25, 2011 Macy's	Dec. 19, 2011 August 2011 Repurchase Program	Aug. 09, 2011 August 2011 Repurchase Program Maximum	Jun. 12, 2012 December 2011 Repurchase Program	Dec. 19, 2011 December 2011 Repurchase Program Maximum
Class of Treasury Stock [Line Items]
Common stock authorized for repurchase				$ 50,000,000.0			$ 20,000,000.0		$ 20,000,000.0
Shares of common stock repurchased					3,700,000	2,400,000		2,200,000
Aggregate repurchase price of common stock					37,700,000	20,000,000		20,000,000
Repurchase price of common stock (usd per share)					$ 10.26	$ 8.34		$ 8.94
Shares repurchase as a percentage of stock outstanding at beginning of year			3.70%		10.70%	7.00%		6.50%
Common stock repurchased and retired, shares			1,200,000
Common stock repurchased and retired, average cost per share			$ 9.78
Repurchase of common stock	$ 18,936,000	$ 71,180,000	$ 12,300,000