RELATED-PARTY TRANSACTIONS Related Party Transactions (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended													12 Months Ended														12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2014 sqft	Aug. 31, 2013	Aug. 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2014 La jolla aviation	Aug. 31, 2013 La jolla aviation	Aug. 31, 2012 La jolla aviation	Aug. 31, 2014 Aseprismar	Aug. 31, 2013 Aseprismar	Aug. 31, 2012 Aseprismar	Aug. 31, 2014 Edgar Zurcher Law Firm	Aug. 31, 2013 Edgar Zurcher Law Firm	Aug. 31, 2012 Edgar Zurcher Law Firm	May 31, 2014 Edgar Zurcher Law Firm	Aug. 31, 2014 Payless ShoeSource Holdings, Ltd.	Aug. 31, 2013 Payless ShoeSource Holdings, Ltd.	Aug. 31, 2012 Payless ShoeSource Holdings, Ltd.	Aug. 31, 2014 Molinos de Costa Rica Pasta	Aug. 31, 2013 Molinos de Costa Rica Pasta	Aug. 31, 2012 Molinos de Costa Rica Pasta	Aug. 31, 2014 Roma S.A. dba Roma Prince S.A.	Aug. 31, 2013 Roma S.A. dba Roma Prince S.A.	Aug. 31, 2012 Roma S.A. dba Roma Prince S.A.	Aug. 31, 2014 Office Depot Panama	Aug. 31, 2013 Office Depot Panama	Aug. 31, 2012 Office Depot Panama	Aug. 31, 2011 Office Depot Panama	May 31, 2013 Office Depot Panama sqft	Aug. 31, 2014 Price Charities	Aug. 31, 2013 Price Charities	Aug. 31, 2012 Price Charities	Aug. 31, 2013 Aprender y Crecer	Aug. 31, 2014 Mitchell G. Lynn	Aug. 31, 2013 Mitchell G. Lynn	Aug. 31, 2012 Mitchell G. Lynn	Aug. 31, 2014 ECR4Kids (ECR)	Aug. 31, 2013 ECR4Kids (ECR)	Aug. 31, 2012 ECR4Kids (ECR)	Aug. 31, 2014 Joint Venture Golf Park Plaza S.A [Member] Office Depot Panama	Aug. 31, 2013 Joint Venture Golf Park Plaza S.A [Member] Office Depot Panama	Aug. 31, 2011 Joint Venture Golf Park Plaza S.A [Member] Office Depot Panama sqft	Aug. 31, 2014 PANAMA GolfPark Plaza, S.A sqft
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Square Footage of Leased Real Estate Property	420,647																																								17,976
Square Meters of Leased Real Estate Property																																									1,670
Related Party Transaction, Expenses from Transactions with Related Party				$ (59,000)	$ (31,000)	$ (31,000)				$ (27,000)	$ (14,000)	$ (26,000)					$ (461,000)	$ (409,000)	$ (367,000)	$ (1,300,000)	$ (1,300,000)	$ (1,400,000)										$ (157,000)	$ (381,000)	$ (285,000)	$ (3,000)	$ (16,000)	$ (1,000)
Realted Party, Ownership Percentage in Unaffiliated Entity													40.00%
Other Revenue Net	3,911,000	3,667,000	3,522,000				48,000	42,000	37,000
Freight Costs							(17,000)	(27,000)	(12,000)
Related Party Transaction, Revenues from Transactions with Related Party														1,400,000	1,500,000	1,400,000							261,000	256,000	252,000			210,000	189,000	98,000
Square Footage of Real Estate Property	2,294,820																										28,000													26,000
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Initial Deposit																																								545,000
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Additional Deposit																																								436,000
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Lease Agreement Period																																								365 days
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Other Payments Required																																								109,000
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Monthly Rental Payments																																								1,000
Proceeds from Sale of Land Held-for-use																										2,100,000
Operating Leases, Term																																								30 years	15 years
Related Party Transaction, Due from (to) Related Party, Current																															2,000
Sale Leaseback Transaction, Rent Expense																																						12,000	12,000
Lessee Leasing Arrangements, Operating Leases, Renewal Term																																									5 years
Operating Leases, Rent Expense																																									8,800
Operating Leases, Rent Expense, Net	$ 13,898,000	$ 11,712,000	$ 10,932,000																																						$ 79,000