Financing (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended							12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 29, 2012 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Minimum [Member]	Dec. 29, 2012 Maximum [Member]	Dec. 29, 2012 Bank Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($) Y Extensions	Dec. 31, 2011 Term Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Term Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($) draws	Dec. 29, 2012 Commercial paper [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Commercial paper [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Domestic facility [Member] Bank Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Advance not to exceed $250 million US Dollars [Member] Bank Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Sub-facility [Member] Bank Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Second series notes [Member] 3.00% Second Series Notes due 2014 unsecured [Member]	Jun. 14, 2013 Second series notes [Member] 3.00% Second Series Notes due 2014 unsecured [Member] Canada Safeway Limited [Member]	Jun. 14, 2012 Second series notes [Member] 3.00% Second Series Notes due 2014 unsecured [Member] Canada Safeway Limited [Member] CAD	Mar. 31, 2011 Senior notes [Member] 3.95% Senior Notes due 2020, unsecured [Member] CAD	Dec. 29, 2012 Senior notes [Member] 3.95% Senior Notes due 2020, unsecured [Member]	Dec. 05, 2011 Senior notes [Member] 3.40% Senior Notes due 2016, unsecured USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Senior notes [Member] 3.40% Senior Notes due 2016, unsecured	Dec. 05, 2011 Senior notes [Member] 4.75% Senior Notes due 2021, unsecured [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Senior notes [Member] 4.75% Senior Notes due 2021, unsecured [Member]	Dec. 29, 2012 Mortgage notes payable, secured [Member] USD ($) Y	Dec. 29, 2012 Other notes payable, unsecured [Member]	Dec. 29, 2012 Other notes payable, unsecured [Member] Minimum [Member] Y	Dec. 29, 2012 Other notes payable, unsecured [Member] Maximum [Member] Y	Dec. 29, 2012 Letters of credit [Member] USD ($)	Dec. 29, 2012 Letters of credit [Member] Bank Credit Agreement [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Average commercial paper borrowing								$ 681,700,000	$ 395,800,000
Weighted-average interest rate during the period								0.86%	0.39%
Bank credit agreement maximum borrowing capacity					1,500,000,000
Termination date					Jun. 01, 2015
Number of extensions provided by agreement					2
Duration of extensions					1
Current borrowing capacity under bank credit agreement										1,250,000,000	250,000,000	400,000,000
Additional borrowing capacity under bank credit agreement					500,000,000
Minimum Adjusted EBITDA to interest expense ratio under bank credit agreement																											2.0
Threshold of cash and cash equivalents																											75,000,000
Maximum Adjusted Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio under bank credit agreement																											3.5
Borrowings outstanding under bank credit agreement					0
Letters of credit outstanding under bank credit agreement																											43,600,000
Total unused borrowing capacity under credit agreement					1,456,400,000
Facility fee percentage			0.125%	0.15%
Term credit agreement amount						700,000,000
Maturity date						Mar. 19, 2015								Dec. 12, 2013		Mar. 31, 2014		Dec. 01, 2016		Dec. 01, 2021
Length of debt instrument							3 years 3 months
Number of draws available under term credit agreement							2
Minimum draw amount under term credit agreement							100,000,000
Minimum draw increment amount under term credit agreement							25,000,000
Percent of principal amount payable semi-annually							5.50%
Borrowings outstanding under term credit agreement	5,125,900,000	4,976,300,000					700,000,000
Unused borrowing capacity under bank credit agreement							0
Commitment fee percentage for amount available for draw							0.175%
Shelf registration expiration date	October 24, 2014
Securities authorized for issuance under shelf registration	3,000,000,000
Securities available for issuance under shelf registration	1,950,000,000														250,000,000	300,000,000		400,000,000		400,000,000
Fixed interest rate of debt							1.46%						3.00%		1.81%	3.00%	3.95%	3.40%	3.40%	4.75%	4.75%
Remaining term range start																						3		2
Remaining term range end																						9			23
Weighted-average interest rate																						5.59%	6.77%
Net book value of assets which secure mortgage note																						92,200,000
Letters of credit amount issued																										50,900,000	43,600,000
Commission percentage paid on letters of credit face amount, minimum range																										0.15%
Commission percentage paid on letters of credit face amount, maximum range																										1.10%
Fair value of debt	$ 5,408,200,000	$ 5,371,300,000