Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 02, 2019	May 01, 2019	Aug. 03, 2018
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	FREDS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000724571
Document Type	10-K
Trading Symbol	FRED
Document Period End Date	Feb. 02, 2019
Amendment Flag	false
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-02
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Entity Public Float			$ 56,477,163
Common Class A [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		35,128,881
Common Class B [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		0