Fatheadz Expands With Oversize Ambitions

These are phat times for a rising accessories brand — the memorably named Fatheadz. It isn't an insult, but it is a fashion statement.

The line of wide sunglasses for big-faced men is enjoying growing sales at Walmart stores and elsewhere, and founder Rico Elmore now is planning to expand his upstart brand into an eyewear line for women as well.

He hasn’t said, but rest assured that Elmore won’t be calling that line “Fatheadz for Ladies.”

Fatheadz is closing in on about $2 million in annual sales for 2010, up from about $700,000 last year, because Elmore recognizes opportunity when it calls. The six-foot-three, 300-pound founder came up with the idea for Fatheadz a few years ago when he couldn’t find stylish sunglasses that properly fit his own large face.

“I must have tried on 300 pairs and literally found nothing that fit," the 36-year-old Elmore told Brandchannel.com.  "I walked out and said, 'This is ridiculous.' I decided to make sunglasses for people like me with fat heads.”

So the auto-dealership fleet manager in Brownsburg, Ind., began working on product designs and patents and got a break when the Indianapolis Star wrote a story about Elmore’s friend, Rupert Boneham, the gentle-giant star of CBS' Survivor series. Fatheadz was mentioned in the article by the Gannett paper. That led to a story in Gannett’s USA Today — and, as fate would have it, a Wal-Mart buyer saw the story.

Some small-company owners shy away from procurement interest by the giant chain because of the demands of satisfying Wal-Mart. But Elmore embraced the challenge in a market test with Walmart stores. Sales zoomed. At Wal-Mart’s suggestion, he slashed prices for Fatheadz glasses — online as well — and sales really took off.

Ever restless, Elmore is seeking other potentially lucrative tie-ins for his brand as well. Fatheadz are a natural fashion accessory for huge National Football League lineman, for instance, and Elmore is working his connections there. He has no promotional deal with the league as yet – but Elmore says it’s on his to-do list.

But first, he’s going to introduce the brand extension for women. The exact name may be up in the air, but that it will launch with Elmore's brand of marketing moxie is a safe bet.