Wilhelmina International gets nearly $2M in coronavirus small-business loans
A modeling agency that represents big-name rappers and pop stars snagged nearly $2 million in loans meant to help small businesses survive the coronavirus crisis.
Wilhelmina International — which counts singer Shawn Mendes and hip-hop artist Swae Lee among its celebrity clients — inked deals last week with Zions Bancorporation for two loans worth a total of $1.97 million from the feds’ $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program, according to a Tuesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
That’s far bigger than the program’s average loan size of $206,000 reported by the Small Business Administration, which administers the loans.
Dallas-based Wilhelmina — founded in 1967 by supermodel Wilhelmina Cooper — is among dozens of publicly traded companies that got help from the loan program pitched as a lifeline for Main Street merchants amid the pandemic. But the program ran out of funding last week with many small companies still waiting for help.
“To see a company like this get assistance meant for Mom-and-Pop small businesses is a slap in the face to main street America,” said Jeremy Funk, a spokesman for Accountable.US, a nonpartisan watchdog group that also criticized so-called PPP loans given to big restaurant chains such as Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Potbelly Sandwich Shop.
“It may come as little consolation for small businesses that were turned away in this process and forced to close their doors that these fashion models and wealthy celebrities will not need to seek out new representation,” Funk added in a statement.
Wilhelmina had 114 employees at the end of last year — well below the threshold of 500 workers that makes a company eligible for a PPP loan — but reported $75.5 million in revenues for 2019. By contrast, the SBA generally considers talent agents and managers small businesses if they have average annual receipts of $11 million or less.
Wilhelmina did not immediately respond to an email asking why it applied for PPP loans. But in its annual report last month, the company said the virus crisis had already led to a reduction in customer bookings that hurt its revenue and earnings.
“The company’s revenues are heavily dependent on the level of economic activity in the United States and the United Kingdom, particularly in the fashion, advertising and publishing industries, all of which have been negatively impacted by the pandemic and may not recover as quickly as other sectors of the economy,” the annual report reads.