When Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast last week, it forced the New York Stock Exchange to close its doors for two days. It was the longest weather-related shutdown of the world’s largest stock exchange by market capitalization in nearly 125 years. 

But the so-called superstorm didn’t completely close the capital markets, as home and outdoor furnishings and accessories retailer Restoration Hardware ended the week by launching the latest in a recent spate of initial public offerings.