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.

The following year, Deckers acquired Sanuk shoes for $120 million, which it later divested to Canadian sportswear company Lolë.

[10] UGG brand boots have a sheepskin upper with a wool inner lining and a tanned outer surface worn by men and women.

[11] Deckers is considered a niche market supplier due to heavy reliance on its UGG brand, a fashion luxury item, in its sales.

California Pacific then claimed rights over the Teva name and patent, stating that Thatcher was merely an employee of their company.

[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.

[citation needed] On November 25, 2002, Deckers Outdoor Cooperation acquired the worldwide Teva patents, trademarks, and other assets from Mark Thatcher.

[16] In 2005, it lost a lawsuit with Deckers Outdoor Corporation about the use of the term "ug" in reference to Australian sheepskin boots.