Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 379,839	$ 326,060
Cost of sales	139,341	115,607
Gross profit	240,498	210,453
Selling, general and administrative expense	150,653	131,748
Research and development expense	13,653	11,425
Amortization of intangibles	7,371	5,552
Operating income	68,821	61,728
Interest expense	2,567	3,662
Gain on insurance proceeds	14,084	0
Other income, net	638	681
Income before income taxes	80,976	58,747
Provision for income taxes	6,041	4,124
Net income	74,935	54,623
Less: Income attributable to noncontrolling interests	268	0
Net income attributable to Cooper stockholders	$ 74,667	$ 54,623
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.54	$ 1.15
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 1.50	$ 1.12
Number of shares used to compute earnings per share:
Basic (in shares)	48,476	47,674
Diluted (in shares)	49,633	48,792