Deckers Brands

Overview

Deckers Outdoor Corporation

type	Public
traded as	nyse: DECK S&P 500 component
founders	Karl F. Lopker Doug Otto
area served	Worldwide
key people	Michael Devine III (Chairman) Stefano Caroti (CEO)
products	Footwear, apparel, and accessories
revenue	US$4.99 billion (2025)
operating income	US$1.18 billion (2025)
net income	US$966 million (2025)
assets	US$3.57 billion (2025)
equity	US$2.51 billion (2025)
num employees	5,500 (2025)
subsid	Hoka Koolaburra Teva UGG
founded	1973
hq location	Goleta, California, U.S. 34.4296°N, -119.86202°W
locations	179 (2025)
website	https://deckers.com
footnotes	Financials as of March 31, 2025.‡R1R‡

Deckers Outdoor Corporation, doing business as Deckers Brands, is an American footwear designer and distributor founded in 1973 and based in Goleta, California. The company's portfolio of brands includes UGG, Teva, and Hoka. It was founded by Doug Otto and Karl F. Lopker.[2][3]

History

In 1973, Karl Lopker began his career making and selling flip-flops at craft fairs along the West Coast of the United States. In 1975, Doug Otto visited Hawaii on business and found that locals referred to his sandals as "deckas", a slang word based on their striped layered construction that resembled a "deck" of stacked wood. Liking the name, Lopker and Otto named their brand Deckers.[4]

Brands

UGG

UGG brand boots have a sheepskin upper with a wool inner lining and a tanned outer surface worn by men and women. Surfing helped popularize the boots outside of Australia and New Zealand, when surfer Brian Smith started selling the boots in the US through UGG Holdings, Inc. in 1979.[11]

Deckers is considered a niche market supplier due to heavy reliance on its UGG brand, a fashion luxury item, in its sales. In the economic downturn of 2008, Deckers continued to show earnings and sales growth.[12] UGG boots are Deckers' primary source of revenue.[1]

HOKA

Hoka is a sportswear company that designs and markets running shoes. It was founded in 2009 in Annecy, France, and had been based in Richmond, California, before it was acquired by Deckers Brands in 2013. Hoka first gained attention in the running industry by producing shoes with oversized midsoles, dubbed "maximalist" shoes. It has sponsored a variety of professional runners and running competitions.

Teva

Geophysicist Mark Thatcher invented Teva (pronounced not in English; the name is based on, meaning 'nature'). [13] While working as a rafting guide in 1982 he noticed the lack of proper shoes for river activities. Sneakers would become heavy when wet and would take days to dry, and flip-flops would slide off feet very easily.

Thatcher added a nylon ankle strap to a traditional thong-style sandal, thus creating the first sports sandal. Thatcher patented his invention and signed an agreement with the shoemaker California Pacific to manufacture the shoes. He marketed the "amphibious utility sandals" as their salesman, selling 200 pairs the first year. Although it was effective water sports footwear, it proved less effective for regular sports, as the first Teva users often complained of blisters between the first and second toes caused by the thong-style strapping system. However in 1984 demand for Teva sandals suddenly increase as young Americans found the sandal fashionable. California Pacific then claimed rights over the Teva name and patent, stating that Thatcher was merely an employee of their company. Thatcher sued California Pacific and won his case the following year, severing links with California Pacific. He then started the Teva company in Flagstaff, Arizona.[14]

In late 1985, Thatcher set up an exclusive licensing agreement with Deckers Corporation to manufacture and distribute Teva sandals. Deckers eventually obtained exclusive rights to Teva, including US patent #4,793,075 for the basic design and a trademark for the brand name.

Deckers Brands

History

Brands

UGG

HOKA

Teva

External links

References