Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Details)					3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2019 Store	Feb. 02, 2019 USD ($) Number	Feb. 03, 2018 USD ($) Number	Apr. 09, 2015	Feb. 02, 2019 USD ($) Number	Aug. 04, 2018 USD ($)	Feb. 03, 2018 USD ($) Number	Feb. 03, 2018 USD ($) Number	Feb. 03, 2019 USD ($)	Feb. 02, 2019 USD ($) Number $ / shares	Feb. 03, 2018 USD ($) Number $ / shares	Jan. 28, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2019 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 19, 2016 USD ($) Number
Number of states | Number		15			15					15
Number of stores | Number		557			557					557
Number of pharmacy | Number		169			169					169
Number of franchisee | Number		11			11					11
Inventory		$ 246,517,000	$ 263,831,000		$ 246,517,000		$ 263,831,000	$ 263,831,000		$ 246,517,000	$ 263,831,000
Net losses			144,500,000						$ 136,200,000	$ (12,967,000)	(150,185,000)
Net cash flows used in operating activities			44,700,000						$ 91,700,000
Period of historical average to estimate shrink										3 years
Trailing period of inventory adjustments										36 months
LIFO reserve increase											1,446,000
Inventory adjustments										$ 400,000		$ 16,400,000
Freight capitalization expense										948,777,000	1,032,058,000
Reserve related to strategic initiative												4,300,000
Inventory remaining adjustments utilized		6,100,000
Utilized remaining freight capitalization expense		1,100,000
Inventory adjustments utilized										400,000
Inventory additional charges recorded		$ 0			$ 0					0
Amortization expense on assets under capital lease										0	0
Rent expense										$ 400,000	500,000
Description of impairment or disposal of long-lived assets										In accordance with ASC 360, Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, we review for impairment all stores open at least 3 years or remodeled more than 2 years ago. Impairment results when the carrying value of the assets exceeds the undiscounted future cash flows over the life of the lease, or 10 years for owned stores.
Minimum period stores open for considering impairment review										3 years
Minimum Period of stores remodeled for considering impairment review										2 years
Impairment of fixed assets										$ 27,800,000	2,500,000
Goodwill impairment charge								87,000		$ 0
Estimated fair value of business exceeded the carrying value, percentage		10.00%			10.00%					10.00%
Amortization expense										$ 9,800,000	10,600,000
Goodwill		$ 0			$ 0					0
Net sales										$ 1,271,746,000	$ 1,395,845,000
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares										$ (0.36)	$ (4.02)
Advertising expenses										$ 14,500,000	$ 23,200,000
Reduction of advertising expenses										14,000,000	20,900,000
Workers compensation		500,000			500,000					500,000
Increase (decrease) in self insurance reserve										8,400,000	11,300,000
Self insurance reserve		70,400,000	68,300,000		70,400,000		68,300,000	68,300,000		70,400,000	68,300,000
Valuation allowances against deferred tax assets		$ 63,046,000	$ 59,299,000		63,046,000		$ 59,299,000	$ 59,299,000		$ 63,046,000	59,299,000
Number of operating segment | Number		1								1
Asset Purchase Agreement [Member] | Rite Aid Corporation & Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc [Member]
Number of stores | Number															865
Total purchase consideration															$ 950,000,000
Termination fee received														$ 25,000,000
Layaway [Member]
Net sales										$ 600,000	700,000
Maximum | Catastrophic Claims [Member]
Increase (decrease) in insurance liabilities											250,000
Minimum [Member] | Catastrophic Claims [Member]
Increase (decrease) in insurance liabilities										350,000
Gift Card Breakage Revenue
Net sales										$ 0	$ 300,000
Gift Card Breakage Revenue | Maximum
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares											$ 0.01
General Merchandise [Member]
Number of stores | Number			557				557	557			557
Franchised Fred's Stores [Member]
Number of franchisee | Number			11				11	11			11
Customer Prescription Files [Member]
Intangible assets useful life										7 years
Pharmacy closures [Member]
Amortization expense								$ 1,100,000
Trade Name [Member]
Goodwill impairment charge							$ 600,000
Impairment related to the trade name								628,000
Merchandise Inventory [Member]
Procurement and storage costs and inbound freight cost		$ 21,300,000	$ 17,300,000		21,300,000		17,300,000	17,300,000		$ 21,300,000	$ 17,300,000
Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Number of stores closed | Store	159
Revolving Credit Agreement [Member]
Outstanding borrowings		80,300,000			80,300,000					80,300,000
Financial covenant, minimum required excess availability amount of commitments		$ 21,000,000			$ 21,000,000					$ 21,000,000
Financial covenant, minimum required excess availability percentage of commitments		10.00%			10.00%					10.00%
Financial covenant description									Under our Revolving Credit Agreement, we have a financial covenant to maintain at all times excess availability of at least the greater of $21,000,000 and 10% of the commitments, and if excess availability falls below such threshold, it would constitute an event of default under the Revolving Credit Agreement.
Maturity date of agreement				Apr. 09, 2020					Apr. 09, 2020
Revolving Credit Agreement [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Outstanding borrowings													$ 78,400,000
Excess availability of borrowings													37,100,000
Financial covenant, minimum required excess availability amount of commitments													$ 21,000,000
Financial covenant, minimum required excess availability percentage of commitments													10.00%
Discontinued Operations Disposed of By Sale [Member]
Number of retail pharmacy sold | Number		179			179					179
Aggregate cash consideration from sale					$ 176,700,000
Specialty Pharmacy Business
Proceeds from sale of business						$ 40,000,000
Inventory						$ 5,500,000
Pharmacy Department [Member]
Number of states | Number		14			14					14
Inventory		$ 13,200,000	11,500,000		$ 13,200,000		11,500,000	11,500,000		$ 13,200,000	11,500,000
LIFO inventory amount		$ 28,800,000	$ 28,800,000		28,800,000		$ 28,800,000	$ 28,800,000		28,800,000	28,800,000
LIFO reserve increase											1,400,000
Goodwill impairment charge					$ 1,500						10,800,000
Net sales										406,559,000	$ 414,753,000
Cargo and Freight [Member]
Freight capitalization expense												$ 2,100,000
Stores and Pharmacies [Member]
Impairment charge to fixed assets										$ 4,000,000