In luxury cosmetics, counterfeiting is harmful to both the image and profitability of firms. Fighting it is hence an important economic issue. In this paper, we study the efficiency of technological innovation as an anti-counterfeiting strategy. Our objective is to determine to which extent knowledge-capital accumulation is an efficient anti-counterfeiting strategy for luxury cosmetic firms. Supporting our study with examples of the leading brands in the sector, such as Dior, Chanel, or Yves Saint Laurent, we show that knowledge-capital accumulation is indeed largely used as an anti-counterfeiting strategy in parallel to knowledge-capital valorization strategies.
JEL Codes: L20, L66, O32, O34