MELVILLE, N.Y. -- Starbucks' announcement this week that it is shuttering 600 stores marks an end to what seemed to be the company's continual upward climb and invincibility in the retail coffee shop industry. Two market-research experts spoke recently about the world-famous company. Q:What happened to Starbucks?

A: Several things, said the analysts. For years, Starbucks has been exceptionally profitable and was a darling of Wall Street. But it expanded too rapidly: You can expand too much, said Robert K. Passikoff, founder and president of market-research firm Brand Keys Inc.

Q:Did the excitement wear off?

A: Pretty much, said Harry Balzer, a vice president of market researcher NDP Group Inc. Starbucks "certainly had a nice run," Balzer said. "I've been doing this for 30 years, and I don't think I've seen anybody do it better. But there's nothing like success to bring on competition. Nobody says you can have the whole market forever."

Q:What else went wrong?

A: Passikoff said Starbucks tried to migrate its coffee brand into a lifestyle brand. "They came out with the movies and the books in the stores. There's nothing wrong with that aspiration. But as part of this, they essentially took a step away from the core quality of the brand, which was the coffeehouse experience. . . . For a while, no one was grinding beans," Passikoff said.

Q:Bad marketing decisions?

A: Yes. The experts said their stores were getting too crowded with furniture, Passikoff said. The couches went. "What essentially they did overall was re-engineer the experience right out of the stores. So customers were standing on line, and there was no experience anymore. They were too much like everyone else," Passikoff said.

Q:How much of Starbucks' decline is related to the economy?

A: Passikoff argued not that much, that Starbucks' market share began to decline a year ago. "In our tests last year, they came out No. 2 to Dunkin' Donuts. This year, Dunkin' is No. 1, McDonald's is No. 2 and Starbucks No. 3 in our market surveys." But Balzer said the entire restaurant industry has been negatively affected by the bad economy.

Q:Can Starbucks come back to what it was?

A: Passikoff doubts it. "Customer values have shifted so dramatically." Balzer, however, said Starbucks still has a lot of marketing power left. "They have got to do new things."