Interesting. In my other hobby (astronomy) there is a fair amount of gear that is exactly the same, but sold under different brands, with maybe a subtle tweak like different rubber grip, etc - read paint job. Essentially at the budget end of the market, there are really only four or five 'houses' that OEM manufacture the vast majority of kit and wholly own what used be a lot of independent brands.
I was assuming that the same thing must happen in cycling, because there simply can't be the vast array of bikes and components there is, from so many different 'manufacturers'. My suspicions were further aroused when looking at a couple of frame geometries on two different bikes (can't remember which ones) from two manufacturers and noting that mm for mm, they were the same. Looking at the bikes seemed to show the same tapers, the same curves, although gaudy paint jobs did their best to camouflage the similarity. When you pointed out the Fulcrum/Campag branding, that was interesting, as it confirmed a suspicion, although that word makes it seem like a dirty little secret, which it isn't; It's just the way it is these days and it delivers amazing kit for previously unheard of prices - Telescopes and bikes alike!
Are there any particularly notable brand parallels a n00b like me would be interested in, or is more subtle than that?
Cheers,
Russell