Document and Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Oct. 29, 2011	Dec. 01, 2011
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Oct. 29, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	FRED
Entity Registrant Name	FREDS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000724571
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-28
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		37,035,259