Goodwill and Long-Lived Assets - Goodwill (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2015	Jan. 31, 2015	Feb. 01, 2014
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period		$ 3,233,597,000us-gaap_Goodwill	$ 3,221,162,000us-gaap_Goodwill
Additions		36,462,000us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod	34,322,000us-gaap_GoodwillAcquiredDuringPeriod
Held for sale			(11,163,000)spls_GoodwillHeldforSale
Adjustments/Disposals		(4,257,000)us-gaap_GoodwillPeriodIncreaseDecrease	(5,462,000)us-gaap_GoodwillPeriodIncreaseDecrease
Impairments	(409,500,000)us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss	(409,539,000)us-gaap_GoodwillImpairmentLoss
Foreign exchange fluctuations		(176,234,000)us-gaap_GoodwillTranslationAdjustments	(5,262,000)us-gaap_GoodwillTranslationAdjustments
Goodwill, end of period	2,680,029,000us-gaap_Goodwill	2,680,029,000us-gaap_Goodwill	3,233,597,000us-gaap_Goodwill
North American Commercial [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period		1,246,786,000	1,245,034,000
Additions		2,045,000	18,377,000
Held for sale			(11,163,000)
Adjustments/Disposals		(2,199,000)	(5,462,000)
Impairments		0
Foreign exchange fluctuations		0	0
Goodwill, end of period	1,246,632,000	1,246,632,000	1,246,786,000
North American Stores & Online [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period		638,025,000	626,673,000
Additions		34,417,000	15,945,000
Held for sale			0
Adjustments/Disposals		0	0
Impairments		0
Foreign exchange fluctuations		(10,158,000)	(4,593,000)
Goodwill, end of period	662,284,000	662,284,000	638,025,000
International Operations [Member]
Goodwill [Roll Forward]
Goodwill, beginning of period		1,348,786,000	1,349,455,000
Additions		0	0
Held for sale			0
Adjustments/Disposals		(2,058,000)	0
Impairments		(409,539,000)
Foreign exchange fluctuations		(166,076,000)	(669,000)
Goodwill, end of period	771,113,000	771,113,000	1,348,786,000
Accumulated goodwill impairment charges	$ 1,180,000,000	$ 1,180,000,000	$ 771,500,000

Goodwill, Held for Sale

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- Definition

Amount after accumulated impairment loss of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 350

-SubTopic 20

-Section 50

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Amount of increase in asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized resulting from a business combination.

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-Publisher FASB

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Amount of accumulated impairment loss for an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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-Publisher FASB

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Amount of loss from the write-down of an asset representing the future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

+ References

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-Publisher FASB

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Amount of increase (decrease) of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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Amount of increase (decrease) from foreign currency translation adjustments of an asset representing future economic benefits arising from other assets acquired in a business combination that are not individually identified and separately recognized.

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