citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . april 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message deckers brands type public traded as nyse deck founder doug otto and karl f. lopker headquarters goleta ca united states key people dave powers president & ceo angel martinez chairman of the board stefano caroti president omni channel tom george chief financial officer david lafitte chief operating officer products footwear apparel and accessories revenue 1.56 billion worldwide number of employees approx . 3 200 globally website www.deckers.com deckers brands is a footwear designer and distributor based in goleta california united states founded in 1973 by university of california santa barbara alumni doug otto and karl f. lopker . 1 2 3 4 in 1975 the company was incorporated in california under the name deckers corporation . in october 1993 deckers initiated a public offering of stock in its company . deckers portfolio of brands includes ugg teva sanuk hoka one one and ahnu . 5 deckers brands products are sold in more than 50 countries and territories through select department and specialty stores 138 company owned and operated retail stores and select online stores including company owned websites . contents 1 history 1.1 milestones 2 corporate structure 2.1 in asia 2.2 in the caribbean 2.3 in europe 2.4 in north america 3 teva 3.1 construction 4 ugg australia 4.1 impact of the ugg brand on performance 4.2 trademark dispute 4.3 counterfeit products 5 sanuk 6 references 7 external links history edit milestones edit some key milestones include 6 in 1973 doug otto began his career making and selling flip flops at craft fairs along the west coast of the united states . in 1975 he 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 otto named his brand deckers . in 1985 deckers expanded its range of sandals when it entered into a licensing agreement to produce and distribute teva sandals . in 1993 otto renamed his company deckers outdoor corporation when it went public on the nasdaq and deckers purchased simple shoes . in 1995 deckers purchased ugg holdings . in 2002 deckers purchased teva s patents trademarks and other assets . in 2003 decker s ugg boots became a fashion hit after oprah winfrey featured the boots on the oprah winfrey show s favorite things segment . in 2010 deckers acquired mozo shoes a brand that produced footwear for the culinary industry . in 2011 deckers acquired sanuk shoes . in 2012 deckers acquired hoka one one . in 2015 deckers acquired koolaburra . corporate structure edit deckers corporate subsidiaries include 7 in asia edit deckers asia pacific limited located in hong kong deckers beijing trading co. ltd located in china deckers japan g.k. deckers macau limited deckers outdoor guangzhou consulting co. ltd located in china stelladeck fashion limited located in hong kong in the caribbean edit deckers international limited located in bermuda in europe edit deckers benelux b.v. located in the netherlands deckers dutch co peratie u.a. located in the netherlands deckers europe limited located in the uk deckers uk ltd located in the uk in north america edit deckers cabrillo llc located in california deckers consumer direct corporation located in flagstaff arizona an e commerce corporation deckers outdoor canada ulc deckers france ii deckers france sas deckers retail llc located in california teva edit teva founded 1984 founder mark thatcher products footwear and accessories parent deckers brands website teva.com an example of the original pair of teva sandals which featured a thong between the toes . a pair of teva sport sandals geophysicist mark thatcher invented teva pronounced teh vah not tee vah hebrew for nature 8 9 . 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 a deal with the shoemaker california pacific to manufacture the shoes while 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 a sudden high demand of teva sandals arose as young americans found the sandal highly 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 originated the tevas company in flagstaff arizona . 10 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 patent 4 793 075 for the basic design and a trademark for the brand name . the sandal was redesigned creating the universal strapping system . the first model called hurricane is the basis of all teva sandals . citation needed on november 25 2002 deckers acquired the worldwide teva patents trademarks and other assets from mark thatcher . after this transfer teva continued to grow under the supervision of the deckers outdoor corporation . citation needed construction edit this section does not cite any sources . please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . july 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message the basic model consists of a 2 layer sole the inner sole is softer and serves as the footbed and most of the models come with arch support and microban zinc a technology that prevents odor and kills bacteria . the outer sole is harder and is formulated to have a good grip on wet surfaces . the universal strapping system consists of 3 parts the toe post a strap that goes on the frontal part of the sandal across the toes and between the inner and outer sole . the heel strap goes around the ankle to prevent the sandal from sliding off . the side strap connects the toes post and the heel strap on the outer side of the sandal this prevents the sandal from stretching in awkward positions where injury could occur . each strap is connected to the others by triangular rings ; each strap goes around one side of the ring . ugg australia edit main article ugg australia ugg brand boots known as ugg australia in australia and new zealand feature a sheepskin upper with a wool inner lining and a tanned outer surface worn by men and women . surfing helped popularise 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 ugg classic boots have been identified as a fashion trend since the early 2000s in the united states with celebrities such as kate hudson and sarah jessica parker wearing them . 12 13 impact of the ugg brand on performance edit deckers is considered a niche market supplier due to the dominance of the brand boots a high fashion luxury item in its sales and as such the company is more reliant than traditional clothing manufacturers on its products remaining fashionable . 14 in the economic downturn of 2008 deckers continued to show solid earnings and sales growth . 15 in 2010 ugg boots were deckers primary source of revenue accounting for 77 % of net sales and 80 % of the company s revenue . 14 in 2012 deckers raised prices on its ugg boots to cover the rising cost of materials . however the resulting decline in sales volume over the first half of 2012 led to a price reduction which successfully stimulated sales . ugg boots accounted for 87 % of the company s revenue with some analysts expressing concern that ugg was losing its appeal . while 2012 annual revenue remained approximately the same as in the prior year profit was down 36.1 % from 2011 and share prices dropped 62 % . 16 17 18 trademark dispute edit main article ugg boots trademark disputes ugg is a registered trademark in the us europe and many other countries . there have been various disputes within australia europe and the united states about the validity of ugh ugg trademark . deckers trades as ugg holdings inc. in australia 19 where it is known for a trademark dispute over the use of the widely used term ugg boots sometimes called uggs . 20 in 1971 australian surfer shane steadman began selling ugg boots and registered the name ugh boots as a trademark in australia . 21 in 1979 brian smith another australian surfer brought several pairs of australian made sheepskin boots to the us and began selling them in new york and california . 22 he set up ugg holdings inc. and in 1985 registered a us trademark on a rams head logo with the words original ugg boot ugg australia . he later acquired the australian mark from steadman . in 1995 he sold his interest to deckers outdoor corporation . 21 in 1996 deckers registered a trademark for ugg in the us . in 1999 deckers began asserting its new trademark and sent cease and desist letters to australian manufacturers but did not press the issue beyond that . 21 in 2005 the validity of the ugg trademark was challenged in federal court in california ; the court ruled for deckers stating that consumers in the united states consider ugg to be a brand name . 23 in his final order the judge hearing the case stated that although the defendants had provided anecdotal evidence of the term being used generically deckers had countered this by submitted ... declarations from four footwear industry professionals each of whom states that ugg is widely recognized in the industry as a brand name and not a generic term and that the defendants evidence fails to demonstrate that the term ugg is generic . 23 in his finding the judge did not consider whether or not ugg was a generic term in australia or new zealand as the doctrine of foreign equivalents only relates to non english speaking countries . 23 a similar challenge was also rejected by a dutch court . 24 it was only in the early 2000s when demand for ugg boots was soaring partly as a result of several celebrity endorsements of the ugg brand 21 and australian manufacturers began selling uggs over the internet that deckers law firm middletons of melbourne began a serious effort to halt australian companies from using the word ugg in their salesefforts . 21 in 2004 deckers sent cease and desist letters to 20 australian manufacturers and mortels sheepskin factory was prevented from selling uggs on ebay or from using the word in domain names . 21 in response to these actions by deckers australian manufacturers formed the ugg boot footwear association to fight the corporation s claim arguing that ugg is a generic term referring to flat heeled pull on sheepskin boots . they further argued that australian manufacturers had been making and trading this style of boot for decades including in the us . in 2003 bruce and bronwyn mcdougall owners of uggs n rugs a western australia based manufacturer started legal action alleging that deckers had not actively used the