After reading Martin Lindstrom's Buyology, I think brands still matter amidst the omnipresence of private labels. The reason is that these labels are parasite brands. Most of their "brand equity" is derived from the host brands. For instance, I use Head and Shoulders because my scalp is dry. I know that both Walmart and Target sell their own private labels and the packages look really close to Head and Shoulders'. If P&G discontinues Head and Shoulders, those private labels will not survive for long. Customers might switch to the private labels for a brief period of time, but the retention rate will erode fast because the brand assoications are weak. Other major brands will sweep into the void and snatch the customers away. When the host brands die, the parasite brands will wither away.