Are store brands really "just as good"?

The New York Times reports on store brands and their increasing acceptability to large numbers of shoppers:

But makers of store brands say that they are every bit as good. In June, the Private Label Manufacturers Association, which represents about 3,000 generic goods makers, commissioned Meyers Research to examine how store brands stacked up.

In a blind taste test, 300 people - who, according to Meyers's president, Arthur Zimbalist, represented a cross section of the population - sampled 1,788 products in 10 locations. Store brands, they found, edged their national counterparts, 51 percent to 49 percent.

Treat commissioned research with appropriate skepticism. However, assuming that it's true, I would still question whether the important point is that private labels are improving, or that lack of innovation by branded products is allowing the store brands to catch up.

It's my contention that increasing concentration of retail, and therefore of manufacturers, is leading to less innovation, which provides an opening for store brands.

Research has shown a strong correlation between levels of retail concentration (by country) and private label market share.