Common stock transactions (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 30, 2011	Nov. 27, 2009	Oct. 02, 2009	Feb. 03, 2012	Jan. 29, 2010
Common stock transactions
Common stock repurchase authorization	$ 500,000,000
Shares acquired under share repurchase program from Buck Holdings, L.P.	4,915,637
Value of shares acquired under share repurchase program from Buck Holdings, L.P.	185,000,000			185,000,000
Common stock issued in initial public offering (in shares)		22,700,000
Common stock shares sold by Buck Holdings, L.P.		16,515,000
Net proceeds from offering used to redeem outstanding debt		446,000,000
Cash dividends, per common share (in dollars per share)			$ 0.7525
Cash dividends and related share-based amounts			$ 239,700,000		$ 239,731,000