San Mateo, Calif.

Staples bought e-commerce software startup Runa, looking to use the San Mateo, Calif., company's offerings to personalize its online store. "With Runa, we're adding technology to better serve our customers with personalized items, offers and delivery estimates, all in real time," said Staples Chief Executive Ronald Sargent. "Runa will allow us to tap into the wealth of engineering and e-commerce expertise in the Silicon Valley area."

The Muslim teen worker who scored a legal victory in an anti-discrimination suit against Abercrombie & Fitch, which cited its dress code in insisting she not wear a hijab to work, says the retailer's policy is "very unfair." A federal judge issued the ruling last week that Abercrombie & Fitch discriminated against Hani Khan, 18, when she was fired from its Hollister store in San Mateo, Calif., in 2010 because she refused to remove her head scarf on the job. Khan says she was approached by her manager after four months on the job.

Branders.com realized its current infrastructure couldn't scale to support its growing SEO operation. The company needed an integrated platform that could handle large keyword volumes and provide comprehensive competitive SEO intelligence. After a review of the alternatives, Branders.com contracted with BrightEdge, a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of on-demand, enterprise-class SEO platforms in 2008.