THE GAZETTE.
January-February 2006 • Year 12, Number 1.
Business Spotlight: Planet Soccer.
By ALEX HERNANDEZ
Administrative Analyst For Economic Development,
City Of Santa Clarita.
Old Town Newhall is a hub for small business. National chain fast-food restaurants and retail stores are nowhere to be found. In an effort to highlight unique or new businesses, we will be spotlighting an Old Town Newhall establishment.
This month, the spotlight is on Planet Soccer, located at 24331 San Fernando Road.
Owners Ricardo Jimenez and Carlos Marroquin opened their fifteen hundred-square-foot store in September. Both are longtime residents of Valencia and avid soccer players who seized the opportunity to start a new venture.
Ricardo owns, and has operated, Ricardo's Auto Upholstery in Old Town Newhall for more than twenty-three years. When a thrift store two blocks from his upholstery business vacated its space, the door opened for Planet Soccer.
The owners say they found "the best location in the heart of downtown Newhall," and inked a five-year lease. Monthlong renovations to the interior included a new coat of paint, new carpet, more fixtures, and the addition of two twenty-seven-inch, flat-screen, high-definition televisions that play live games or pre-recorded matches.
Planet Soccer can be described as a destination sports store, much like another close neighbor — the Roger Dunn golf shop. Planet Soccer offers specialty soccer clothes and accessories from more than thirty lines of merchandise, including hard-to-find European team jerseys and other logo merchandise. Customers also can customize their merchandise and accessories by adding numbers, names or embroidery.
Both Carlos and Ricardo are fluent in Spanish. A majority of their customers are Spanish-speaking, but word of mouth and events like the Street Art Festival in October have helped broaden their customer base.
New accounts with local schools and referrals from the Santa Clarita Soccer Center and other city leagues have helped Planet Soccer become an official Nike soccer supplier. The owners plan to host a formal grand opening in early 2006.
Planet Soccer is a member of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. The store is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The phone number is 661/253-1800.
©2006, Old Town Newhall USA. All rights reserved.
