Segment Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($) state store	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($) segment state store	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Operating segments | segment										2
Estimated annual rate of reimbursement (as percent)									2.50%
Number of states in which entity operates | state	13									13
Amount of reimbursement made by operating segments	$ 432,805	$ 376,773	$ 398,157	$ 389,113	$ 456,819	$ 395,233	$ 396,050	$ 365,076		$ 1,596,848	$ 1,613,178	$ 1,485,218
Revenues:
Product sales										1,186,197	1,199,134	1,117,909
Repair service agreement commissions										113,615	109,730	90,009
Service revenues										14,659	13,725	13,058
Total net sales										1,314,471	1,322,589	1,220,976
Finance charges and other revenues										282,377	290,589	264,242
Total revenues	432,805	376,773	398,157	389,113	456,819	395,233	396,050	365,076		1,596,848	1,613,178	1,485,218
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold	217,373	192,374	208,869	204,466	240,631	202,901	202,461	187,133		823,082	833,126	777,046
Selling, general and administrative expenses										460,896	436,115	390,176
Provision for bad debts										242,294	222,177	192,439
Charges and credits										6,478	8,044	5,690
Total costs and expenses										1,532,750	1,499,462	1,365,351
Operating income	28,700	16,391	6,351	12,656	25,596	17,916	36,098	34,106		64,098	113,716	119,867
Interest expense										98,615	63,106	29,365
Loss on extinguishment of debt										0	1,367	0
Other expense, net												0
(Loss) income before income taxes										(34,517)	49,243	90,502
Property and equipment additions										46,556	63,405	61,696
Depreciation expense										28,846	22,706	18,745
Total assets	1,941,134				2,025,300					1,941,134	2,025,300	1,645,804
Allocation of overhead by operating segments										24,500	16,700	12,400
Intersegment Eliminations [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Amount of reimbursement made by operating segments										38,800	36,400	29,800
Revenues:
Total revenues										38,800	36,400	29,800
Retail [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Amount of reimbursement made by operating segments	356,198	308,370	332,436	319,036	376,945	323,050	325,605	298,628		1,316,040	1,324,228	1,223,542
Revenues:
Product sales										1,186,197	1,199,134	1,117,909
Repair service agreement commissions										113,615	109,730	90,009
Service revenues										14,659	13,725	13,058
Total net sales										1,314,471	1,322,589	1,220,976
Finance charges and other revenues										1,569	1,639	2,566
Total revenues	356,198	308,370	332,436	319,036	376,945	323,050	325,605	298,628		1,316,040	1,324,228	1,223,542
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold										823,082	833,126	777,046
Selling, general and administrative expenses										326,078	313,694	286,925
Provision for bad debts										990	791	551
Charges and credits										6,478	8,044	5,690
Total costs and expenses										1,156,628	1,155,655	1,070,212
Operating income	56,096	33,946	35,707	33,663	44,864	36,005	45,124	42,580		159,412	168,573	153,330
Interest expense										0	0	0
Loss on extinguishment of debt										0	0
Other expense, net												0
(Loss) income before income taxes										159,412	168,573	153,330
Property and equipment additions										46,374	63,262	61,377
Depreciation expense										28,063	21,995	18,091
Total assets	332,611				314,857					332,611	314,857	342,320
Credit [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Amount of reimbursement made by operating segments	76,607	68,403	65,721	70,077	79,874	72,183	70,445	66,448		280,808	288,950	261,676
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
Repair service agreement commissions										0	0	0
Service revenues										0	0	0
Total net sales										0	0	0
Finance charges and other revenues										280,808	288,950	261,676
Total revenues	76,607	68,403	65,721	70,077	79,874	72,183	70,445	66,448		280,808	288,950	261,676
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold										0	0	0
Selling, general and administrative expenses										134,818	122,421	103,251
Provision for bad debts										241,304	221,386	191,888
Charges and credits										0	0	0
Total costs and expenses										376,122	343,807	295,139
Operating income	(27,396)	$ (17,555)	$ (29,356)	$ (21,007)	(19,268)	$ (18,089)	$ (9,026)	$ (8,474)		(95,314)	(54,857)	(33,463)
Interest expense										98,615	63,106	29,365
Loss on extinguishment of debt										0	1,367
Other expense, net												0
(Loss) income before income taxes										(193,929)	(119,330)	(62,828)
Property and equipment additions										182	143	319
Depreciation expense										783	711	654
Total assets	$ 1,608,523				$ 1,710,443					1,608,523	1,710,443	1,303,484
Furniture and Mattress [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										421,055	409,788	339,414
Furniture and Mattress [Member] | Retail [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										421,055	409,788	339,414
Furniture and Mattress [Member] | Credit [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
Home Appliance [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										358,771	356,634	328,742
Home Appliance [Member] | Retail [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										358,771	356,634	328,742
Home Appliance [Member] | Credit [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
Consumer Electronic [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										293,685	312,009	317,482
Consumer Electronic [Member] | Retail [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										293,685	312,009	317,482
Consumer Electronic [Member] | Credit [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
Home Office [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										92,404	101,365	108,700
Home Office [Member] | Retail [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										92,404	101,365	108,700
Home Office [Member] | Credit [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
Other [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										20,282	19,338	23,571
Other [Member] | Retail [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										20,282	19,338	23,571
Other [Member] | Credit [Member]
Revenues:
Product sales										0	0	0
AcceptNow [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Amount of reimbursement made by operating segments										81,400	58,900	56,800
Revenues:
Total revenues										$ 81,400	$ 58,900	$ 56,800
Foreign Operations [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of retail stores | store	0									0