SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND RELATED MATTERS (Details 3) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 25, 2012 segment	Feb. 26, 2011	Feb. 27, 2010
Goodwill and Other Indefinite Lived Intangible Assets
Goodwill	$ 198,700,000	$ 198,700,000
Indefinite lived tradenames	30,900,000	30,900,000
Deferred Rent
Deferred Rent	77,900,000	78,300,000
Unamortized portion of tenant allowances	120,100,000	111,900,000
Treasury Stock
Repurchase of common stock - authorized	4,950,000,000
Repurchase of common stock (in shares)	21,505,000	15,901,000	2,678,000
Repurchase of common stock - cost	1,217,956,000	687,605,000	94,857,000
Remaining authorized share repurchases	919,000,000
Vendor Allowances
Direct cooperative advertising allowances	19,500,000	17,600,000	14,500,000
Advertising Costs
Net advertising costs	$ 192,500,000	$ 198,300,000	$ 230,600,000
Income Taxes
Minimum likelihood of tax benefits realization upon settlement (as a percent)	50.00%
Earnings per Share
Stock-based awards excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share (in shares)	900,000	1,500,000	9,800,000
Segments
Number of operating segments	1
Minimum
Advertising Costs
Direct response advertising expenses recognized over expected sales period (in weeks)	4
Maximum
Advertising Costs
Direct response advertising expenses recognized over expected sales period (in weeks)	6