Document And Entity Information	9 Months Ended
	Nov. 01, 2014	Dec. 05, 2014
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	FREDS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000724571
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	FRED
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		36,915,375
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Nov. 01, 2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014