Sep. 19—WATERFORD — Crystal Mall's Bed, Bath and Beyond outlet was discounting all merchandise at 15% to 30% off Monday, days after the housewares chain identified 56 stores it intends to close this year, including two in Connecticut ― the one here and the one in Stamford.

"Store closing sales will commence and continue over the next few months," Bed, Bath & Beyond's corporate media relations office wrote in an email.

"We recently announced the closing of approximately 150 underperforming stores in support of our current optimization strategy," the office wrote. "Through store optimization, we regularly evaluate each location based on a variety of factors, including lease renewal and proximity to our other stores."

Bed, Bath & Beyond, based in Union, N.J., said employees displaced by store closings may be offered positions in neighboring stores in addition to other benefits, where possible.

In a financial update issued at the end of August, the company reported it expected sales in the current quarter to be down 26% over the same quarter last year.

The Bed, Bath & Beyond at Crystal Mall, located on the upper level, has served as one of the mall's anchors along with the Christmas Tree Shops, which is located beneath it on the first floor. JC Penney is the mall's other remaining anchor. Former anchors Macy's and Sears closed in 2021 and 2018, respectively.

The list of Bed, Bath & Beyond's 56 soon-to-be-shuttered stores includes eight in California, six in Illinois and five in New York.

Bed, Bath & Beyond has a dozen locations in Connecticut, the closest to Waterford being its store in Guilford.

b.hallenbeck@theday.com