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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

ALABASTER — As part of a massive wave of closings due to financial insecurity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bed Bath & Beyond is set to close 63 of its retail stores nationwide, including the Alabaster location.

“As we rebuild our authority and establish a truly omni-always shopping experience for our customers, we recently announced a store optimization plan that will see us establish the right network of stores to serve our customers,” said Bed Bath & Beyond Spokesperson Jessica Joyce.

The Alabaster store is one of two set to close in the state, with the other being the Birmingham location at 1640 Gadsden Highway.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bed Bath & Beyond announced in late 2019 that they expected to close several stores. Following the pandemic, the company temporarily delayed this process, but is now moving ahead with this plan, and transitioning toward digital sales.

CEO Mark Tritton said in a statement that they anticipate this move will save the company upwards of $250 million every year.

“In this COVID moment, we believe we can take this opportunity to not just simply close stores, but to pivot and reshape and truly optimize our store footprint,” said Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President John Hartmann. “We continue to believe that our physical store channel is an asset for us, as we transform into a digital-first company.”

An official date for the Alabaster store’s closure has not been announced, however, the company said that they anticipate that most of these closures will happen before the end of this year.