DOCUMENT AND ENITY INFORMATION	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 28, 2012	Aug. 30, 2012
Entity Registrant Name	FREDS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000724571
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--02-02
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	FRED
Entity Common Stock Shares Outstanding		36,667,623
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jul. 28, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012