Sale of businesses and assets (Details) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended					6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jan. 28, 2017	Oct. 29, 2016	Jul. 30, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015	Jul. 30, 2016	Oct. 29, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Balance Sheet Disclosures [Abstract]
(Loss) gain on sale of businesses and assets		$ 2,000,000			$ 0		$ 50,000,000	$ (3,000,000)
Staples Print Solutions [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business		$ (2,000,000)	$ (16,000,000)	$ (32,000,000)		$ (48,000,000)
Goodwill, Written off Related to Sale of Business Unit				19,000,000
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets to be Disposed of				13,000,000
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Operating Income (Loss)					$ 5,000,000		$ 10,000,000	$ 17,000,000
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Balance Sheet Disclosures [Abstract]
Receivables			51,000,000			51,000,000
Inventories			57,000,000			57,000,000
Other assets			4,000,000			4,000,000
Total assets			112,000,000			112,000,000
Accounts payable and other current liabilities			12,000,000			12,000,000
Total liabilities			$ 12,000,000			$ 12,000,000
Staples Print Solutions [Member] | North American Commercial [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Consideration				$ 85,000,000
Minimum [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member] | Staples Print Solutions [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business	$ (5,000,000)
Maximum [Member] | Scenario, Forecast [Member] | Staples Print Solutions [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on Disposition of Business	$ (10,000,000)