Segment reporting (Detail) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Jan. 29, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	May. 01, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Aug. 01, 2014 USD ($)	May. 02, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2016 USD ($) segment	Jan. 30, 2015 USD ($) segment	Jan. 31, 2014 USD ($) segment
Segment reporting
Number of reportable operating segments | segment									1	1	1
Net sales data for classes of similar products
Net sales	$ 5,286,938	$ 5,067,048	$ 5,095,904	$ 4,918,672	$ 4,939,059	$ 4,724,409	$ 4,724,039	$ 4,522,081	$ 20,368,562	$ 18,909,588	$ 17,504,167
Consumables
Net sales data for classes of similar products
Net sales									15,457,611	14,321,080	13,161,825
Seasonal
Net sales data for classes of similar products
Net sales									2,522,701	2,344,993	2,259,516
Home products
Net sales data for classes of similar products
Net sales									1,289,423	1,205,373	1,115,648
Apparel
Net sales data for classes of similar products
Net sales									$ 1,098,827	$ 1,038,142	$ 967,178