Design for authenticity: a new methodology for the NPD process in the luxury market

Abstract

The luxury market is surely one of the areas most affected by the counterfeiting phenomenon. The presence of fake goods means a financial loss for companies, both in terms of reduced turnover, but also in terms of intangible losses (i.e. brand value reduction). This phenomenon led companies, in the last years, to ask their New Product Development (NPD) division if and how it was possible to develop unique products, difficult or even impossible to replicate, and how to help customers in the identification of authentic goods versus fake ones. The aim of this work is to answer these questions in a context characterized by a growing awareness of the authenticity guarantee and product integrity, combined with the need of traceability. The purpose of this paper is therefore to develop a qualitative and quantitative methodology, called Design for Authenticity (DfA), aimed to protect the authenticity of a product in all the stages of its life cycle, with a special regard to the aspects related to the authenticity of the product. Keywords : luxury, new product development, methodology, counterfeiting, product value