Related Party Transactions	12 Months Ended
Related Party Transactions	Jan. 02, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Randolph K. Repass, West Marine's founder and a member of the Company's board of directors, is a general partner of three partnerships in which he, together with certain members of his family, owns substantially all of the partnership interests. Currently, West Marine leases two properties from the partnerships: the Watsonville Support Center and the Santa Cruz store. Both locations are in California. During 2015, West Marine extended one related party lease for the Company's Santa Cruz store as the lease expired on November 30, 2015. The renewal is temporary, as the Company is moving the current Santa Cruz store into a larger, adjacent building in the same center in mid-2016 which is also owned by the same related party. During 2014, West Marine did not enter into any new related party transactions and terminated one related party lease. West Marine has leased its store in Santa Cruz, California, its store in Braintree, Massachusetts, and its support center in Watsonville, California since 1982, 1996 and 1988, respectively. These three properties are leased from Randolph K. Repass through the partnerships. Negotiations for these transactions were conducted at arms' length using independent representatives for each party at the time these leases were entered into. Although these leases have been in place for a number of years, the Company's Audit and Finance Committee nonetheless reviews these transactions annually to determine if they remain in the best interest of the Company. The lease for the Company support center is West Marine's most significant related party transaction. West Marine made payments to the above-related parties during fiscal years 2015, 2014 and 2013 in the aggregate amount of approximately $1.6 million, $1.7 million and $1.9 million, respectively. Related party transactions, including related party lease renewals, are pre-approved by West Marine's Board of Directors acting through the Audit and Finance Committee. The Audit and Finance Committee reviews and determines that the related party transaction is in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders. As of January 2, 2016, there were no amounts due to related parties.

The entire disclosure for related party transactions. Examples of related party transactions include transactions between (a) a parent company and its subsidiary; (b) subsidiaries of a common parent; (c) and entity and its principal owners; and (d) affiliates.