Rico Elmore's fat head is now invaluable.

Because this Indianapolis man couldn't find sunglasses to fit his plump noggin, he created some. And now his Fatheadz products are in Wal-Mart vision centers nationwide, after a limited one-year trial.

"It's not every day someone from the world's largest retailer calls a good ol' Indiana boy and wants his product for their stores," said Elmore.

Talk about good placement.

More than 176 million customers visit Wal-Mart stores each week, according to the company's Web site.

How tough is it to get into a Wal-Mart? The retailer gets thousands of offers monthly. It sources from companies in more than 70 countries, including about 61,000 U.S. businesses.

"It is tough to get a product on Wal-Mart's shelves, although it is surprisingly easy to get your 10 minutes in front of their buyers," said Richard Feinberg, professor of retailing with Purdue University.

Elmore hasn't forgotten how nervous he was to meet with the buyer from Wal-Mart in New York, which he did in 2006. He had just finished a television show, talking about his quirky shades.

"Here I was, this 300-pound guy with makeup," Elmore said.

The meeting ended up going well.

"It was one of the happiest days of my life," he said.

For Elmore and other suppliers whose products land on Wal-Mart store shelves, it is an "incredible opportunity to get your product in front of 13 percent of all shoppers in the U.S.," said Feinberg.

The only bad news is that Wal-Mart watches items' sales very closely, he said.

"They only want things that sell and sell quickly," Feinberg said. "They will cut quickly."

For Elmore, that's not a worry. More than a year ago, Wal-Mart placed Fatheadz in 300 of its stores. The test went well, and that's what led to Elmore landing a spot nationwide.

Wal-Mart declined to talk about how well Fatheadz products are selling. But company spokeswoman Christi Davis Gallagher confirmed that Fatheadz are in Wal-Marts nationwide.

That's a big leap for a company that Elmore started out of his house in 2006, making sunglasses that were wider, bigger and had longer earpieces on the sides. He did it on the back porch of his home at night as he worked for a car dealership during the day.

But after his story ran in The Indianapolis Star and then was picked up in USA Today, a Wal-Mart president caught wind of his innovation and everything changed.

"We got a call from Wal-Mart and thought it was a prank," said Elmore, 35, who has moved his operation from the back porch to a real office in Westfield. "It's crazy how it all took place."

It's not just Wal-Mart that's come calling, however. Fatheadz customers have included NFL players, professional wrestlers, race-car drivers and the military.

But it's the everyday customers like himself that give Elmore great pleasure. He loves getting e-mails from pleased customers -- like this one, which Elmore read proudly last week: "I'm interested in your glasses because i have a fat head, too. My wife prefers a plumper noggin."

Another e-mail: "These glasses fit perfect."

"That is what makes this all worth it," Elmore said. "It's not for the faint of heart by any stretch of the imagination -- the trials and tribulations of making the right decision, making the wrong decision. If it were easy, everybody would be doing it."

Call Star reporter Dana Hunsinger at (317) 444-6012.