As a point of reference, the largest supplier of home refrigerators to the US market is Haier, a Chinese company. Haier private labels for many brands, about half of the fridges sold here come from their factories. They recently bought GE's appliance division.

I think the reasons that old fridges disappear are changing priorities. Energy efficiency. Styling. Size. Color. I suppose an avocado colored fridge from the 60's or a brown fridge from the 70's would still work, but who would want it in the age of stainless steel?