Note 6 - Employee Benefit Plans

6 Months Ended

Feb. 28, 2015

Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

6. Employee Benefit Plans

Defined Contribution Retirement Savings Plan

The Company has a defined contribution retirement savings plan with a 401(k) feature for all eligible employees not under collective bargaining agreements. The Company matches a portion of the employee’s contribution and may make an additional contribution at its discretion. Contributions charged to expense under the plan for the thirteen weeks ended February 28, 2015 and March 1, 2014 were $3.8 million and $4.1 million, respectively. Contributions charged to expense under the plan for the twenty-six weeks ended February 28, 2015 and March 1, 2014 were $7.9 million and $8.2 million, respectively.

Pension Plans and Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans

The Company maintains an unfunded Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan for certain eligible employees of the Company, a non-contributory defined benefit pension plan covering union employees at one of its locations, and a frozen pension plan the Company assumed in connection with its acquisition of Textilease Corporation in fiscal 2004. The amounts charged to expense related to these plans for the thirteen weeks ended February 28, 2015 and March 1, 2014 were $0.9 million and $0.6 million, respectively. The amounts charged to expense related to these plans for the twenty-six weeks ended February 28, 2015 and March 1, 2014 were $1.7 million and $1.2 million, respectively.