ACCOLADES:

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE ASSEMBLY Certificate of Recognition presented to: A5 Events
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF BURBANK Letter of Appreciation presented to: A5 Events Team Against Drugs
CITY OF LOS ANGELES Certificate of Recognition presented to: Ryan Kugler Toluca Lake Homeowners Association
DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION Los Angeles Field Division with appreciation for the valuable contribution of Ryan Kugler and the Say No to Drugs Race Team in support of the 11th Annual Holiday Classic
SERTOMA FANTASY BASEBALL/SOFTBALL CAMP FOR DEAF & HARD OF HEARING KIDS Letter of Appreciation presented to: Ryan Kugler: First National Pictures
CITY OF LOS ANGELES Happiness Is: Say No to Drugs

San Fernando Business Journal

Small Business Leadership Awards

San Fernando Business Journal

40 Under 40

By Kelly Goff, Staff Reporter

Kugler says his success is based on a few key principles: “Be nice to everyone, always return phone calls, and stay in communication with everyone. Try your hardest to make anything happen.”

Los Angeles Business Journal: May 28

New Video Rental Chain Backs Away From Big Box

By Joel Russel, Staff Reporter
Ryan Kugler, chief executive of video liquidator DVA in Burbank, has occasionally bought old DVDs from Point.360 and is familar with the company. He sees a drawback in that Movie Q shops are often unmanned.

Hi-Def Digest: June 29

HDD Learns About DVD and Blu-ray Liquidation: Physical Media Still Winning

By Michael S. Palmer
When a movie comes out on DVD and Blu-ray, it goes to Target and Best Buy and whatever’s left of Blockbuster, and other major retailers like Walmart, Kmart, Sears, Toys R Us, etc. Once it’s done its run for a few months, retailers [call DVA] and say, “Hey we have some excess inventory of the DVD or the Blu-ray.”

San Fernando Business Journal: June 6

Media Reseller Find New Wares

By Jessica Vernabe
DVA, Inc in Burbank sell CDs, DVDs, electronics – even your mother’s cookware.

Small Business Advocate: May 18

 

Find interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show

 

Find interviews with Small Business experts on the Small Business Advocate show

Business News Daily: May 10

Changing Times Can Be Good For Business

By Chad Brooks, Business News Daily Contributor
For the Burbank, Calif.-based business, thatmeant straying from their comfort zone of music, movies and games and adding other items like TVs, iPods, toaster ovens and other small electronics to it’s product line.

Los Angeles Times: April 2

Bidders including Dish Network and Icahn lining up for Blockbuster auction Monday

By Ben Fritz
A new owner probably will have to close more stores to move the company forward, said Ryan Kugler, chief executive of DVA, Inc., a seller of used DVDs and other entertainment media.

“There are stores that sill do good business with people who don’t own an iPad,” he said. “But that’s probably going to last five to seven years.”

Los Angeles Business Journal: March 21- 27

CBS Connects With Tracker of Online Video Content

INTERNET: Network’s deal for Clicker shows move into digital distribution.

By Natalie Jarvey
“Digital distribution is the future and the executives know that,” Kugler said. “Anytime
a large corporation like CBS can buy an organization that does digital downloads, it’ s a
good thing.”

Home Media Retailing: March 7 – 13

6Q with DVA President Ryan Kugler

By Erik Gruenwedel
Long before Redbox popularized the $1 DVD movie rental, Burbank, Calif.-based Distribution Video and Audio was repurposing studio disc returns to national discount retailers such as 99 Cents Only stores.
The 23-year-old family-owned and operated business began in 1988 selling 100,000 VHS units a year.

Poughkeepsie Journal: February 26

3 more Blockbuster stores to close

By Sarah Bradshaw
Based in California, video wholesaler Ryan J. Kugler, owner of Distribution Video & Audio in Los Angeles, said Blockbuster is saying the goal is to stay open, and as a result, the company can’t announce that “they are throwing in the towel just yet.”

Burbank Leader: January 25

Recycling lesser-known flicks: Burbank business takes in $23 million a year selling films to stores across the country and on the Internet.

By Steve Kindred
He’s in the movie business, but he’s not at Sundance with all the snow bunnies and hot stars this week. Ryan Kugler is an aggregator. His DVA (Distribution Video & Audio) is one of the most successful businesses in Burbank, but don’t look for his store.

City of Los Angeles: December 5

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Race Holiday Classic

City of Burbank: December 5

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Race Holiday Classic

Drug Enforcement Administration, Los Angeles Field Division: December 5

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Race Holiday Classic

Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation: December 5

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Race Holiday Classic

Hits Magazine: December 3

By Mark Pearson
We had a chance to catch up with Ryan Kugler who, along with his brother Brad, has carved out a tidy operation outlasting most, if not all of the former heavyweights to make DVA pretty much the last man standing in the arena.

Tomi Magazine: November

By Tonisha L. Johnson
There are times in business when the flow of things is running so smoothly it is as if it’s truly a well-oiled machine. In fact, your busi-ness, in the last few years or so has hardly faltered but like life, things happen and it can abruptly happen to your business. So what do you do when your well-oiled machine com-pletely rusts? For Ryan Kugler, the President & Co-owner of DV&A, this is exactly what happened.

LA Femme Film Festival: October 17

Ryan J. Kugler sat on the panel for Financing and Distribution for Film: Where’s The Money? at the LA Femme Film Festival on Sunday October, 17, 2010. The seminar explored all the possibilities of getting money for your film. He and the others on the expert panel of entertainment professionals
that will gave attendees all the possible ways they can access financing and distribution venues or at least get started.

City of Pasadena: September 25

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Half Maraton

Examiner.com Los Angeless: September 16

Ryan J. Kugler speaks about Distribution at the Burbank
International Film Festival.

Ryan Kugler from Distribution Video & Audio (DVA, Inc.) answered questions important to all filmmakers. Can I get additional funding if my film is picked up at Wal-Mart? How much money will I get for my film if I sell if to a distributor? Do film festivals help my film on the retail shelf? What do I need to do to get my film on line? And more.

Los Angeles Business Journal: July 17

Slipped Discs:
Fading popularity of DVD forces vendor and producer to take other business models out for a spin.

By Joel Russell
The death of the DVD is coming faster than expected. It came as a surprise to Ryan Kugler, president of Distribution Video & Audio, or DVA in Burbank. He built his company by purchasing DVDs that movie studios couldn’t sell at full price, and then reselling those so-called remainders to retail stores, which put them in last-chance bargain bins.

City of Los Angeles: 12/13

Certificate of Commendation for the 9th Annual Say No To Drugs Race Holiday Classic

City of Los Angeles: 10/10

Certificate of Commendation for the Say No To Drugs Race / SRLA 5K Run

DV&A on FOX 13 Tampa Bay: August 18

Charley’s Got Movie Mania

It’s a bargain shopper’s dream, and once a year DVA in Palm Harbor opens to the public. FOX 13’s Charley Belcher got a sneak peak of some of the deals on movies, music and more.

 

Inc 500 | 5000 for 2009: Special Issue: August 

 

Fortune Small Business Magazine: May

 

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 4/17

The New Indie: Wholesalers Find Market in Small Sellers on the Internet

By Chris Tribbey
Kugler and DV&A have made a living out of closeouts, buying excess inventory from studios and their wholesalers, and then turning around and selling the product to a couple of thousand smaller retailers.

Publishers Weekly: 4/13

DVA Expands Book Remainder Niche

by Lynn Andriani
In addition to used book retailers, another company that is having a good year is the closeout company Distribution Video & Audio. Although DVA has its roots in the DVD and CD market, it has a growing book business and now buys around five million books annually from 50 different accounts, ranging from small to large publishers. Its customers include dollar chains, Wal-Mart, Target and online retailers, as well as independent stores. Ryan Kugler, president and co-owner of DVA, said the company has seen an increase in sales over the past year: “We’re doing very well. People like cheap stuff.”

The Los Angeles Business Journal: Week of 2/23 – 3/1

Video Business: 1/16

Used DVDs a growing business:
Supply increasing from kiosks, consumers

By Jennifer Netherby
“Used is growing,” Kugler said. “With demand and Netflix and Redbox and Blockbuster Online as they get larger and larger, as they rightfully should, there’s going to be more product out there.”

ABC Los Angeles, Channel 7: 1/12

NPR – National Public Radio: 12/27

Distribution Video and Audio is the last major supplier of VHS tapes, and it’s ceasing distribution (of VHS tapes) at the end of the year. Co-owner Ryan Kugler talks with Scott Simon about the end of video tapes.

The Early Show on CBS: 12/24

Watch CBS Videos Online

Los Angeles Times: 12/22

VHS era is winding down
The last big supplier of the tapes is ditching the format, ending the long fade-out of a product that ushered in the home theater.

Geoff Boucher
“It’s true, one man’s trash is another man’s gold,” Kugler said. “But we are not the graveyard. I’m like a heart surgeon — we keep things alive longer. Or maybe we’re more like the convalescence home right before the graveyard.”

Washington Times: 12/19

Where old DVD formats go to die:
Entertainment media liquidator says their days are numbered

Scott Galupo
If you happen by the discount bin at Wal-Mart or a gas-station market, there’s a better-than-average chance it originated from one of DVA’s two giant warehouses outside Tampa, Fla. (The company temporarily rents storage space in other regions, as needed.)

What Would Toto Watch?: 12/17

Where do misfit formats go?

We are still finding new customers who want DVDs or CDs to sell in stores and entertainment products do well in a recession/depression. Look at the movie business in the 1930s. That’s when it started and really grew.

City of Los Angeles: 12/12

Certificate of Commendation

Kansas City Star: 12/06

Company Digs Up Excess (and old) Inventory and Sells it in Bargain Bins

Robert W. Butler
“We like to say we’re in the business of life after death. We take products that the manufacturer can no longer sell and market them through secondary locations. I’m talking about everything from truck stops to flea markets to car washes. Chains like Dollar General and Big Lots. Grocery chains … mom-and-pop stores all over the planet.”

AliBaba.com: 12/02

Salvaging the Holiday Shopping Season

Editor: Zoe Zhang
“Entertainment does well in recession because people want to get away from the stock market and the news,” says DVA president Ryan Kugler. “The economy has affected us in a positive way. The retailer is looking for a deal, and when they can buy a movie from us for a buck or two, they can’t go wrong.”

MovieMaker Magazine: Fall

Hollywood’s Not So Dirty Little Secret

Kyle Rupprecht
“There are challenges that face the industry. DVD sales have flattened as people are confused by the marketplace. The format war with Blu-ray and HD DVD confused the customer and many don’t understand why they should by buying Blu-ray at a higher price point when they already have a DVD player at home. An education process will be required so people understand what the value of the new format is and why it’s worth paying a higher price.”

Entrepreneur: 11/24

Salvaging the Holiday Shopping
Season

By Dennis Romero
“Entertainment does well in recession because people want to get away
from the stock market and the news,” says DVA president Ryan Kugler. “The
economy has affected us in a positive way. The retailer is looking for a deal,
and when they can buy a movie from us for a buck or two, they can’t go
wrong.”

New York Times:11/21

DVDs, Hollywood’s Profit Source, Are Sagging

By Brooks Barnes
Weak consumer spending is not the only culprit. Media
companies, desperate for revenue, are dumping more
obscure titles on the market, leading to downward pricing
pressure, according to Distribution Video and Audio, a digital downloads are cutting into sales.

Daily Titan: 10/14

Reel World Experience

By Ashley Landsman
“I found that a lot of people make movies, but the movie fails,” he said. “There’s never that final piece of the puzzle to teach you what to do with a film once it’s made.”

Washington Post: 10/05

Bells And Whistles In Search Of An Audience

By Mike Musgrove, Technology Columnist
Although movie studios aren’t releasing new content on the format, leftover HD DVD movie discs now retail for about $7, said Ryan Kugler, president of the Los Angeles-based Distribution Video & Audio, a company that buys surplus entertainment media inventory and resells it to discount retail chains.

Electronic House: 09/30

HD DVD Still Has Steam:
A new report says that the defunct high-def format is still doing decent sales.

By Rachel Cericola
Ryan Kugler, president of Distribution Video & Audio, said that his company scarfed up many of the HD DVDs that retailers returned to the studios—only to sell them off to those still using the hardware. “Cheap entertainment always does well in a recession or depression,” Kugler said.

Pocket Lint: 09/30

Financial Times: 09/29

HD DVD slashed prices drive sales up

By Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles
“Cheap entertainment always does well in a recession or depression,” he said.

Variety: 09/29

DVDs start making cents:
Websites selling movies for cheap

By Daniel Frankel
With more and more bargain-conscious movie-buyers discovering these sites in a tight economy, sales have been brisk. Kugler estimates the U.S. DVD wholesale market is worth somewhere around $1 billion annually.

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 9/3

DVA Celebrates 20th Anniversary

By Kyra Kudick
“It’s a tremendous accomplishment for any firm to be in business for more that 20 years,” said Ryan Kugler, president of DVA. “Our achievements are even more significant when you examine the context of the entertainment industry and the radical changes that have taken place within it over the last 20 years.”

DVA on Daytime/NBC TV: 8/11

 

The Bill Handle Show: 4/25

Content Agenda: 3/22

DV&A promotes business as green solution for overstock.

By Wendy Wilson
“When a studio destroys product, they have to pay money to destroy it,” he said. “So why not receive money from me for it, and then it goes back out into the marketplace?”

DVD Release Report: 7/30

WaMu Breakfast Series: 6/22

Los Angeles Times: 4/18

VB: Video Business Magazine:1/20

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 8/27

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 7/16

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 5/15

VB: Video Business Magazine: 5/15

LA Business Journal: 3/27

Youth Market Alerts: 3/15

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 3/13

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 3/5

VB: Video Business Magazine: 2/26

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 2/21

Toy Fair Times:1/20

Home Media Retailing Magazine: 12/17

VB: Video Business Magazine: 10/31

Variety: 10/05

VB: Video Business Magazine: 7/2