the following table sets forth information concerning increases in the total number of our aap stores during the past five years: .
what is the growth rate in the number of stores during 2012?
( 1 ) does not include stores that opened as relocations of previously existing stores within the same general market area or substantial renovations of stores . store technology . our store-based information systems are comprised of a proprietary and integrated point of sale , electronic parts catalog , or epc , and store-level inventory management system ( collectively "store system" ) . information maintained by our store system is used to formulate pricing , marketing and merchandising strategies and to replenish inventory accurately and rapidly . our fully integrated system enables our store team members to assist our customers in their parts selection and ordering based on the year , make , model and engine type of their vehicles . our store system provides real-time inventory tracking at the store level allowing store team members to check the quantity of on-hand inventory for any sku , adjust stock levels for select items for store specific events , automatically process returns and defective merchandise , designate skus for cycle counts and track merchandise transfers . if a hard-to-find part or accessory is not available at one of our stores , the store system can determine whether the part is carried and in-stock through our hub or pdq ae networks or can be ordered directly from one of our vendors . available parts and accessories are then ordered electronically from another store , hub , pdq ae or directly from the vendor with immediate confirmation of price , availability and estimated delivery time . our centrally-based epc data management system enables us to reduce the time needed to ( i ) exchange data with our vendors and ( ii ) catalog and deliver updated , accurate parts information . we also support our store operations with additional proprietary systems and customer driven labor scheduling capabilities . all of these systems are tightly integrated and provide real-time , comprehensive information to store personnel , resulting in improved customer service levels , team member productivity and in-stock availability . we plan to start rolling out a new and enhanced epc in fiscal 2013 which is expected to simplify and improve the customer experience . among the improvements is a more efficient way to systematically identify add-on sales to ensure our customers have what they need to complete their automotive repair project . store support center merchandising . purchasing for virtually all of the merchandise for our stores is handled by our merchandise teams located in three primary locations : 2022 store support center in roanoke , virginia ; 2022 regional office in minneapolis , minnesota ; and 2022 global sourcing office in taipei , taiwan . our roanoke team is primarily responsible for the parts categories and our minnesota team is primarily responsible for accessories , oil and chemicals . our global sourcing team works closely with both teams . in fiscal 2012 , we purchased merchandise from approximately 450 vendors , with no single vendor accounting for more than 9% ( 9 % ) of purchases . our purchasing strategy involves negotiating agreements with most of our vendors to purchase merchandise over a specified period of time along with other terms , including pricing , payment terms and volume . the merchandising team has developed strong vendor relationships in the industry and , in a collaborative effort with our vendor partners , utilizes a category management process where we manage the mix of our product offerings to meet customer demand . we believe this process , which develops a customer-focused business plan for each merchandise category , and our global sourcing operation are critical to improving comparable store sales , gross margin and inventory productivity. .