Business and Summary of Accounting Policies (Narrative) (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 29, 2011	Jan. 30, 2010	Jan. 31, 2009
Number of family oriented department stores	1,089
Authorized capital stock	800	800
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	10
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01
Credit and debit card receivables	$ 70,000,000	$ 68,000,000
Capitalized interest	6,000,000	5,000,000	8,000,000
Impairment of long-lived assets	0	0	0
Lifetime medical payment limit per plan participant	1,500,000
Estimated total insurance related liabilities	89,000,000	85,000,000
Workers' Compensation Insurance Policy [Member]
Value of initial insurance risk retained	500,000
General Liability Policy [Member]
Value of initial insurance risk retained	$ 250,000