Lakeland-based Publix Super Markets Inc. released its 2014 annual report Monday, highlighting its profits in 2014 and plans for new stores this year. The chain’s profits were up nearly 5 percent from $1.65 billion in 2013 to $1.74 billion in 2015. The grocer plans is reported to be planning to invest $1.3 billion in new store construction, remodeling, technology and in buying shopping centers that its stores anchor. Publix has 1,095 stores across the southeast, with 760 in Florida, 182 in Georgia, and other in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and North Carolina.
