Debt and Credit Agreements (Details)	12 Months Ended						1 Months Ended							0 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2012 USD ($) days	Jan. 29, 2011 USD ($)	Jan. 30, 2010 USD ($)	Nov. 04, 2010 USD ($)	Jan. 15, 2009 USD ($)	Oct. 13, 2006 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Intercompany Loans Entered into in December 2011 - CAD [Member] CAD	Jan. 28, 2012 Short Term Debt April 2011 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Apr. 01, 2011 Short Term Debt April 2011 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2011 Short Term Debt April 2011 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Mar. 27, 2009 Short Term Debt April 2011 Notes [Member]	Sep. 30, 2002 Short Term Debt October 2012 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2011 Long Term Debt October 2012 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2009 Long Term Debt January 2014 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2011 Long Term Debt January 2014 Notes [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2011 Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2012 Capital lease obligations and other notes payable [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 29, 2011 Capital lease obligations and other notes payable [Member] USD ($)	Jan. 28, 2012 Line of Credit [Member] USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Intercompany Loans							750,000,000
Capital Leases, Future Minimum Payments Due	1,400,000
April 2011 Notes	2,038,180,000	2,557,390,000						0		500,000,000			325,000,000		1,500,000,000	170,745,000	218,689,000	9,815,000	13,701,000
Fair value adjustments on hedged debt	0	44,373,000
Less: Current portion	(439,143,000)	(587,356,000)
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations	1,599,037,000	2,014,407,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Repayments in Year Two	1,596,980,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Repayments in Year Three	620,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Repayments in Year Four	416,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Repayments in Year Five	316,000
Long-term Debt and Capital Lease Obligations Repayments after Year Five	705,000
Interest Paid	184,500,000	210,900,000	217,500,000
Debt Instrument, Face Amount									500,000,000			325,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage					9.75%						7.75%	7.375%
Notes Payable					1,500,000,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt	301,843,000	201,566,000	1,211,424,000											1,490,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	373,100,000			1,000,000,000		750,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity	1,000,000,000																			202,400,000
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity as Revised upon Agreement				1,500,000,000
Letter of Credit Facility, Facility Fee Rate, Low End of Range	0.15%
Letter of Credit Facility, Facility Fee Rate, High End of Range	0.35%
Maximum Borrowing Capacity of Commercial Paper Program	1,000,000,000
Commercial Paper Notes Maximum Maturity Period	397
Short-term Debt, Average Outstanding Amount	150,000,000
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate	0.30%
Short-term Debt, Maximum Amount Outstanding During Period	345,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	$ 170,700,000