Staples Acquires Runa to Transform Shopping Experience Through Personalization

FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Staples SPLS, the world's second largest internet retailer, announced today it has completed the acquisition of Runa, a software company based in San Mateo, Calif. that helps online retailers increase sales by personalizing the shopping experience. Terms and conditions of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“Runa has a unique platform and outstanding talent with experience in e-commerce and online marketplaces,” said Ronald Sargent, chief executive officer and chairman, Staples. “With Runa, we're adding technology to better serve our customers with personalized items, offers, and delivery estimates, all in real-time. Runa will allow us to tap into the wealth of engineering and e-commerce expertise in the Silicon Valley area.”

Staples is continuing to invest in e-commerce capabilities, creating a highly personalized shopping experience and building on its online leadership. Runa's PerfectOffer™ serves up automated, data-driven and personalized offers in real-time and PerfectShipping™ provides real-time personalized delivery estimates and free-shipping offers.

“We built Runa with a philosophy of doing more with less, by leveraging the most talented engineers and data scientists in the world, to tackle the most challenging problems in e-commerce,” said Ashok Narasimhan, co-founder, chief executive officer and chairman, Runa. “As part of Staples, we will retain our culture and agility, while gaining the resources to transform the global e-commerce landscape.”

The Runa facility in San Mateo will serve as the newest Staples Lab, following locations in Seattle and Cambridge. In the coming months Staples plans to increase the staff in San Mateo. Candidates with backgrounds in Clojure programming, deep learning and data science who are interested in applying are encouraged to check Staples' careers page to view openings.

About Staples:

Staples is the world's largest office products company and second largest internet retailer. For 27 years, Staples has served the needs of business customers and its vision is to provide every product businesses need to succeed. Through its world-class retail, online and delivery capabilities, Staples offers office supplies, technology products and services, facilities and breakroom supplies, furniture, copy and print services and a wide range of other product categories. With thousands of associates worldwide dedicated to making it easy for businesses of all sizes, Staples operates throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. The company is headquartered outside Boston. More information about Staples SPLS is available at www.staples.com.