Why are Kodak AA and AAA Batteries getting hard to find?

I used to be a fan of Energizer rechargeable batteries until shortly after I purchased my Kodak Z710 camera. The camera came with two Kodak AA rechargeable batteries and a charger. I had also purchased two sets of AA Energizer rechargeables and a charger to go with them. Over the course of the next few months, I noticed that the Kodak batteries lasted longer than the Energizer batteries, and I decided to buy more Kodak batteries and a quick charger that charged the batteries in an hour, and never looked back.


The Energizer batteries all eventually stopped holding a charge and the original Kodak batteries lasted two years longer. They still hold a charge, and I've switched them to low drain devices, like my hand held radio scanner or audio recorder.


From time to time, as I bought more cameras and other electronic equipment to cover events, I would typically buy a 4 pack of AA or AAA Kodak batteries to keep batteries rotating through the devices.


Recently, I purchased a portable stereo audio recorder and went to the local Wal-Mart in Franklin, NC. There were no Kodak batteries. (I also noticed that the selection of Kodak cameras was greatly reduced from what it had been before). I asked an associate, and she said they no longer carried Kodak batteries.


I waited until the next time was in Sylva, NC to get a pack of batteries from the Walmart Supercenter. No dice. I stopped in K-Mart, Lowe's, and even a couple of drugstores. As a last resort, I checked out the local Radio Shack. No Kodak batteries there, either.


I've asked around and done a little digging on the Internet, and have not found an answer to why it has become so hard to get Kodak batteries.


I had to order my Kodak batteries online via the Kodak Store.


Does anyone out there know why stores have quit carrying Kodak AA and AAA batteries? 


Not just the rechargeables, the regular ones as well.