Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 28, 2013	Sep. 29, 2012	Sep. 28, 2013	Sep. 29, 2012
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Effective tax rate	49.00%	(5.90%)	61.70%	(0.50%)
Actual income tax expense (benefit)	$ 154,561,000	$ 3,433,000	$ 160,823,000	$ 341,000
Income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to the Consolidated Statement of Operations	(39,000,000)
Office Depot De Mexico
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Mexican income taxes			117,300,000
U.S. income tax expense			32,700,000
Total estimated income tax expense			150,000,000
Actual income tax expense (benefit)	145,600,000
Income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to the Consolidated Statement of Operations	4,700,000
Tax benefit related to equity compensation	5,200,000
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Income Taxes [Line Items]
Tax carryback claim related to the accounting method change	$ 14,000,000		$ 14,000,000