Current and long-term obligations (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended						12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 29, 2011	Apr. 29, 2011	Oct. 29, 2010	Jul. 30, 2010	Feb. 03, 2012	Jan. 28, 2011	Jan. 29, 2010	Jan. 29, 2010 Senior secured term loan facility, maturity July 6, 2014	Feb. 03, 2012 Senior secured term loan facility, maturity July 6, 2014	Jan. 28, 2011 Senior secured term loan facility, maturity July 6, 2014	Feb. 03, 2012 ABL Facility, maturity July 6, 2013	Jan. 28, 2011 ABL Facility, maturity July 6, 2013	Feb. 03, 2012 ABL Facility, maturity July 6, 2013 Tranche 1	Feb. 03, 2012 ABL Facility, maturity July 6, 2013 Last out tranche	Jul. 29, 2011 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Apr. 29, 2011 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Oct. 01, 2010 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	May 28, 2010 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Nov. 27, 2009 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Aug. 03, 2007 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Feb. 03, 2012 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Jan. 28, 2011 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Jul. 06, 2007 10.625% Senior Notes due July 15, 2015, net of discount of $- and $11,161 respectively	Nov. 27, 2009 11.875/12.625% Senior Subordinated Notes due July 15, 2017	Aug. 03, 2007 11.875/12.625% Senior Subordinated Notes due July 15, 2017	Feb. 03, 2012 11.875/12.625% Senior Subordinated Notes due July 15, 2017	Jan. 28, 2011 11.875/12.625% Senior Subordinated Notes due July 15, 2017	Feb. 03, 2012 Capital lease obligations	Jan. 28, 2011 Capital lease obligations	Feb. 03, 2012 Tax increment financing due February 1, 2035	Jan. 28, 2011 Tax increment financing due February 1, 2035
Current and long-term obligations
Current and long-term obligations					$ 2,618,481,000	$ 3,288,227,000			$ 1,963,500,000	$ 1,963,500,000	$ 184,700,000											$ 853,172,000				$ 450,697,000	$ 450,697,000	$ 5,089,000	$ 6,363,000	$ 14,495,000	$ 14,495,000
Less: current portion					(590,000)	(1,157,000)
Long-term portion					2,617,891,000	3,287,070,000
Stated interest rate, minimum (as a percent)																										11.875%
Stated interest rate, maximum (as a percent)																										12.625%
Stated interest rate (as a percent)																					10.625%
Maximum financing under credit agreements					2,995,000,000
Letters of credit, amount available											350,000,000
Maximum financing under credit agreements									1,964,000,000		1,031,000,000		930,000,000	101,000,000
Effective Interest rate (as a percent)									3.10%	3.00%																11.875%
Commitment fees (as a percent)											0.375%
Reduced commitment fees (as a percent) subject to specific conditions											0.25%
Maximum unutilized commitments as percentage of aggregate commitments to reduce commitment fees											50.00%
Principal repaid in installments and voluntary prepayment								336,500,000
Write off of deferred debt issuance cost associated with prepayment								4,700,000
Borrowings during the period											1,160,000,000
Repayments during the period											970,000,000
Standby letter of credit, amount available											21,700,000	52,700,000
Commercial letter of credit, amount available											16,700,000	19,100,000
Borrowing availability under credit facility											807,900,000	959,300,000
Borrowings during the period																				1,175,000,000					725,000,000
Discount on debt issued																						11,161,000	23,200,000
Principal amount of notes repurchased	839,300,000	25,000,000	65,000,000	50,000,000											839,300,000	25,000,000	65,000,000	50,000,000	195,700,000					205,200,000
Redemption price as percentage of principal amount															105.313%	107.00%	110.75%	111.00%	110.625%					111.875%
Loss on debt retirement, net	58,100,000	2,200,000	8,200,000	6,500,000	60,303,000	14,576,000	55,265,000												24,900,000		60,300,000	14,700,000		25,700,000
Percentage of the principal amount at which the senior subordinated notes are redeemable due to change of control																										101.00%
Scheduled debt maturities including capital lease obligations
2012					590,000
2013					184,992,000
2014					1,963,815,000
2015					454,000
2016					618,000
Thereafter					$ 468,012,000