Newly installed chief executive Tom Alexander outlined plans on Wednesday to refresh the brand of mobile operator Orange in the UK.

Alexander, who is something of an industry veteran, having co-founded Virgin Mobile, unveiled a three pronged strategy, which will put the company’s focus back on the customer.

The main operation will be divided into two segments, a Consumer unit and a Business unit, supported by a new Sales & Loyalty business layer, while a New Business, Wholesale and Strategy team is also being created to develop new business and revenue opportunities as well as developing Orange’s wholesale and MVNO business.

As a result of the restructuring Orange will lose around 450 management roles, but the company said it is planning to create up to 500 new roles in frontline customer service and retail by the end of the year.

The company will open around 60 new stores, building on its existing 338 outlets, and will revamp the retail and post store experience with Instant Messaging and web self-serve systems, as well as moving its call centres back to the UK.

Customers can also expect better coverage and services with 450 new 2G base stations to be deployed, an accelerated HSDPA rollout and a speed upgrade to 14.4Mbps.

“The telecommunications market has evolved dramatically in recent times and it is my aim to make sure that Orange is at the forefront of serving today’s 21st century customer – a customer who is web-savvy, product-savvy and, quite rightly, demands a premium service at the same time as best value for money,” said Alexander.

“So we’re proposing to change the shape of the organisation and the way the business works to serve the 21st century customer. These changes are designed to stop duplication within our organisation, and to ensure we are agile, and able to deliver and react quickly to customers’ needs. And they’ll also make staff more accountable while generating greater financial and operational efficiencies,” he added.