Document And Entity Information (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 01, 2014	Aug. 03, 2013	Apr. 11, 2014 Common stock, Class A voting	Apr. 11, 2014 Common stock, Class B nonvoting
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	FREDS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000724571
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-01
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	FRED
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			36,798,897	0
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Feb. 01, 2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 635